Ash, Betrayal and Bloodlust
by Planeswalker
Summary: Taiahna, a seventeen year old girl, finds herself with her family dead, her city burnt, and her friends dismembered. Now she has been captured by a silverhaired boy, Lord Dilandau, with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. Can she escape?COMPLETE,IN REVISION
1. Blood Red

Hello folks! I posted this story years ago and am currently in the process of revising it and editing it for grammar. It's old, but I love it :) so I'm trying to update it to reflect my growth in writing ability. don't really want to change it too much, as I want to stay true to my original ideas, so I'm only fixing the major errors. This might result in a little choppiness in the first couple chapters (the worst ones, lol).

I'm also leaving some of my original author notes.

This chapter has been fixed :)

All fixed chapters will have author's notes proclaiming so :D just like this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of its characters.

I was feeling particularly murderous when I wrote this... Enjoy! .

O0O0O0O

It was the eve of war.

The sounds of soldiers preparing for the morrow filled the still night air. There was no talk or laughter, just the sounds of metal upon metal as armour was polished and swords were strapped on. Fond memories resurfaced as the men looked towards the still darkened horizon and what could very well be the last day of their lives.

In a tent, on top of the small hill overlooking the camp, a silver-haired boy paced impatiently. Most would call him a boy, at the age of seventeen, but those who know him know that he is certainly a boy no longer; any childish thoughts forgotten long, long ago.

He pulled aside the tent flap and stared into the night, imagining the ensuing battle. The air around him seemed to tingle with anticipation, and he couldn't help but lick his lips at the visions of bloodshed that danced through his mind.

He closed the flap in disgust and walked back into the tent, pacing again. For him, the battle could never come quickly enough. As the rage of bloodlust took him over, he sat down at his small wooden table, slowly twirling his dagger.

He wanted so very much to kill.

He was startled as a petite girl walked into his tent. She approached him and touched his shoulder lightly. The young woman was Anne of Mencuria, the daughter of the duke of the small western county bearing her name. Her father had wanted to marry her off to a warlord and Folken, resident magician, scientist and leader of the Zaibach army, had agreed before the warlord in question had anything to say about it. She was to travel with them until they could be suitably wed. The warlord detested the whole idea, but Folken thought the western area would be easier to conquer once they had rule over part of it.

"Lord Dilandau." The girl tugged childishly at his sleeve, awakening great irritation in the lord.

"What is it?" he snarled, causing her to back away.

"Lord Dilandau, I want you to touch me." she pouted. "You hardly touch me anymore."

She cringed, not knowing what to expect. He threw back his head and laughed maniacally. Anne shrank back at the sight of his features, seemingly twisted in the lamplight. The he stoped, dead serious. He met her gaze.

"Tomorrow, we attack. You know that. Tomorrow hundreds of men will die. Not only soldiers, but innocents too. Their blood will stain the earth red. Their guts will lay on the ground, left for the vultures, because no one will be left to bury the dead." He sheathed his dagger as violent punctuation and paused for a moment to relished the scene. He continued on: "Not only the enemy's blood, but our own sons, brothers and fathers. And you come to me tonight, Anne of Mencuria," he spoke her title mockingly, "You come to me tonight asking to make love?"

"Well, I, maybe..." She began to back away, towards the tent flap. Finally Dilandau's thirst for blood could not wait any longer. He picked her up and threw her to his cot.

"Fine." His smile made him seem the devil incarnate. "If that's what you want."

He looked at her in the buttery light, shed from the oil lamp. She appeared much like a delicate china doll with a terrified look an its face.

"And I'm going to break you." he whispered to himself as he drew his dagger.

"What?" asked Anne, scarcely able to breath. She saw the expression upon his face and screamed.

The men preparing for battle shifted uneasily, though not one of them dared to approach the tent. They didn't have a death wish.

The bloodcurdling scream echoed down the valley and reached Folken's ears. He sighed, disappointed. This was the third one this month. He'd warned her to stay away the night before battle. Or was that the last one? He shrugged his shoulders. Either way, she'd brought it upon herself.

O0O0O0O

As the day dawned, Dilandau exited his tent in his full armour, all red. The red was nearly the same as the shade of the blood a handful of men saw him licking from his dagger with a look of pure ecstasy before he tucked it away in his boot.

"Chesta, Miguel!" he called out over the noise. Somehow, the two trusted Dragon Slayers heard their commander and made their way over to him. They lowered themselves onto one knee and bowed their heads.

"We live to serve you." they announced in unison. They had heard the screaming and pleas for help the night before, and didn't want to have their lord's wrath taken out upon them as well. He smiled, pleased by their show.

"Stand."

The two did so, quickly and efficiently.

"Your orders, Commander?" asked Miguel.

Miguel would appear to anyone a boy as well, with his thin face, mouse brown hair and blue-grey eyes, but if you examined him closely it was apparent from his build and the air around him that he was a hardened warrior.

"Tell Dallet and Gatti they will work their units of foot soldiers as a pair. Shesta, you, Viole, and your units of archers. Miguel, you and your cavalry are coming with me."

"Yes sir!" they cried, then ran off to deliver the message and gather their men.

Dilandau surveyed the organized chaos that took place around him. He was itching to enter battle. The city they were going to attack, Seldory, was four hours march away, and there they would find food and water for their men.

An hour later, Miguel returned to Dilandau and bowed before him.

"All is ready commander, you have but to give the word." A malicious gleam sparkled in his eyes; eyes the colour of the blood he loved to shed.

"Then let's MOVE OUT!" he called at the top of his lungs. The massive army slowly heaved into motion like a machine vast beyond reckoning.

Dilandau smiled. Four short hours and his thirst for blood would be quenched.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna, a seventeen year old girl with long red hair and chestnut eyes was sitting on the outer city walls singing. Her song stopped abruptly when she saw a streak in the distance spreading over the green hills. The black and scarlet stain grew steadily, until it covered the entire hill, making it appear drenched in blood. She realized what it was and called to the guards below. They simply laughed at her childish game. All the guards knew Taiahna, the boyish orphan. She loved swordplay, and the city guard had adopted her as their own, teaching her everything they knew. She called to the guards now with renewed urgency.

"Thomas! Daylan! Barlow! I see an army! It's coming!" Thomas, a young man himself, stopped laughing and climbed up to get a better look. The sight he saw frightened him so he made the sign of the Creator before calling to the others.

"It's no joke! They're really coming!" he yelled. The others climbed the wall to see for themselves. A silence begotten by fear settled like a pall upon the four friends.

Daylan sprang into action, ringing the warning bells to alert the city.

"Dear Creator," said Barlow, "they're confronting us in broad daylight." He swallowed nervously and glanced at Taiahna. "You know what that means."

"Yeah." she answered, trying to keep her voice from quavering. "They're doing it because they have the manpower and the sheer numbers to overwhelm us." The three friends sat upon the wall for the longest time, watching the taint of crimson and black spread. A look of determination came over Taihana's face.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm going to be ready when they get here."

She climbed down from the high wall and took off to retrieve her sword from it's hiding place in the darkened alleyway she called her home. As she ran, she called to the city's inhabitants:

"Get out of the city! The an army is coming!" She ran calling until a soldier stopped her from running and drew her near.

"Listen girl." he said gruffly, "We're trying to keep the people calm. They can't get out of the city now anyway, the gates are locked and barred."

She broke angrily from his grasp, glaring into his beady eyes.

"But what's going to happen when they break inside the walls? We'll all be trapped!"

He smiled confidently.

"They won't breach the walls. It's not possible. Not one can defeat our soldiers."

She backed away slowly, shaking her head, not wanting to hear another word of his propaganda.

"No! You're wrong! Have you even seen their numbers?!"

"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." He patted her on the head as one would a small child.

She flung her arms upward, brushing him off.

"I said, have you seen their numbers?!"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then it's true. You're all too ignorant to care!" She turned and ran on towards the alleyway.

'_That's how my grandparents died,'_ she thought bitterly, _'the guard was ignorant and the town was slaughtered.'_

She still remembered sitting among the ash and flames, her small seven year old body trembling violently, just waiting for one of the men to sweep down upon her with his sword...

Taiahna brushed the memory from her mind like cobwebs hanging across an old doorway as she entered the alleyway.

She removed her sword from the pile of rags in the corner and swung it in front of her, testing its familiar weight. Her face darkened at the thought of having to use it. After clipping its to her belt she decided to head back to the main gate and her three friends. As she neared it, she heard a jarring crash and panicked shouts.

At that moment she knew:

'_The wall has been breached. They're going to come in here and slaughter us all like cattle in a pen.' _

She ran faster, only to be overwhelmed by the soldiers pouring through the gate. She slashed at the living river of men streaming through. But as a river, water removed is water soon replaced.

They didn't even stop to help their own injured.

'_What kind of monsters are they?'_

She fled to the side of the main road and decided to wait it out in hiding until the army had passed. It was taking much longer then she thought.

'_There're just so many...' _

They continued to pour through the gate, foot soldiers followed by cavalry, backed up by archers. _'They're smart monsters, I'll give them that.'_

Just as the last of the men poured through, she saw a silver-haired man in blood-red armour smiling and laughing, even cutting down his own men to get to the city square faster. She looked closer;

'_But he's just a boy! He can't be any older then me!'_ There was a horribly disturbing lunacy bordering on ecstasy that floated about his features.

She headed for the gates, looking for her friends, and heard a voice call out her name.

"Taiahna! Over here!"

'_Thomas.'_

The sight that greeted her eyes was not the cheerful, optimistic man that had been her friend, but a broken man, lying under a pile of rubble, struggling to breath. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Tom?" she asked quietly, hoping childishly for some false reassurance.

"Save yourself. Get away. Don't wor-" He broke off into a bout of wracking coughs. Spittle flecked with blood landed on her cheek. She wiped it away, not caring.

"It's all going to be okay Tom, right?" she asked. Thomas smiled gently and closed his eyes.

"It's fine, right? Right?" She shook his body forcefully, "Tom? TOM!"

She burst into tears, clutching at her friend's body in vain. He, Barlow and Daylan were the only family she had now. The only family she'd had for seven years.

'_The others! I have to find them!'_

She searched the area carefully. A short while later she came upon Daylan's body. He had a gaping wound in the centre of his chest. She placed a kiss on his forehead and continued to search for Barlow, picking her way around several dismembered corpses that had been left in the wake of the boy in red.

She saw Barlow's hand reaching out from under a pile of rubble, recognizing it by his signature ring on the first finger of his right hand. She went to pull his body out from under the pile, but as she pulled she noticed how light he seemed. She glanced down to discover, to her horror, that it was only his arm. Dropping it, she choked back a gag.

'_Those bastards.'_ she thought. _'They don't care what happens, as long as they win.'_

She scanned the crowd of soldiers for the silver-haired boy. He wasn't that hard to spot, his red armour contrasting the black of his steed.

She gripped her sword. After this ordeal, she needed someone to blame.

'_It's his fault. He did this. He killed my family.' _

She ran towards the battle, which was blurred by the tears in her eyes. Her past was playing in her mind all over again, and she was there among the ash and flame.

This time she had a sword. This time she was going to stop it.

'_You'll pay, boy.'_

Dilandau ripped through the crowd of frightened villagers in a frenzy. How he had longed to see blood spilt on the cold stone. He hacked his way through the crowd, laughing as the people around him were cut down. Farmers, soldiers, he didn't care; they all bled the same.

All that mattered in that moment was that the cold steel of his sword struck human flesh at every blow. Suddenly, he heard a scream rip through the plaza, louder then any other noise. It was a girl with a long ribbon of red hair trailing behind her.

'_Blood red,' _he thought licking his lips. His eyes opened wide and his pupils contracted as he realized she was coming straight for him. Before he could change his stallion's direction she attacked, knocking him from his horse. She held him down with one foot as she shifted her grip on her sword, preparing to kill.

"This is for killing by family!" she cried in anger as she wound up to finish him.

'_No.' _he thought calmly._ 'I will not be killed by a woman.'_

He grabbed her calf and flung her to the ground, raising his sword to behead her as her own weapon skittered away, loosed from her hand at impact. He was about to complete the deadly arc when he noticed the absolute quiet of the plaza. All of the villagers were dead, and all of the soldiers were looking at him.

'_Damn. I can't kill a woman this clearly. I'll lose their respect.'_

He wiped his bloodied sword on the grass and, with huge amounts of self-restraint, turned his back on the girl. She lay there dazed as the commander walked over to administer new orders to his officers. After gesturing to the girl, one of his men walked over to help her up. He bound her wrists behind her and brought her to his lord. She stared up helplessly into his crimson eyes, defeated. He ran his fingers down the scar on the right side of his face unconsciously. He was obviously deciding what to do with her.

"What do you want me to do with her Lord Dilandau?"

"Bring her to my tent." He leered. "Tonight we raid the supplies. It is absolutely vital that we don't miss anything. Tomorrow we move on to Koriella." He waved his hand, dismissing them. It seemed the entire army jumped into motion the moment he spoke.

'_Lord?' _she thought, realizing she had indeed attacked someone important. '_His tent?'_ She swallowed nervously. She'd seen the look on his officer's face when he'd said that; an expression of extreme pity. As soon as they were out of his sight the officer introduced himself.

"My name is Chesta." She saw his face and gasped. He couldn't be older than fifteen. He was not much taller than her, and quite slight. He had wide blue eyes and straw blonde hair.

"I'm very sorry Milady." said the boy honestly.

"For what?" Taiahna asked suspiciously, "And why are you apologizing to me?"

A sad look came over the boy's face.

"I apologize to you because I am leading you to your death." he answered.

"Why are you so sure?" she asked.

"Because no one who goes in there ever comes out alive..." he opened the flap of his commander's newly set up tent and motioned for her to enter. She looked through the darkened entrance. There was only a single small oil lamp set up, for its normal occupant was still giving orders elsewhere. She glanced up for what could have been the last time at the evening sky before entering the Dragon Slayer's cave. As soon as the flap closed behind her, the clouds moved to cover the setting sun, darkening the city, as if presenting some sort of bad omen. Chesta shivered and secretly wished her good luck.

Taiahna immediately set about retrieving her boot-knife and untying her wrists. Shadows on the tent walls told her that she was being heavily guarded, so escape wasn't an option at the moment. She wandered the interior of the tent, Spartan in decor. There was only a wooden table and chair in the centre of the tent, and what she imagined was probably a standard issue army cot off to the side. She was also quick to notice the dark stains that marred the light grey of the fabric of the tent walls, especially near the bed. As if that hadn't been enough to unnerve her, when she averted her eyes from the stains on the walls by looking up at the ceiling, there were more. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

'_Oh dear Creator,'_ she thought, examining the splotches of deep burgundy that covered the ceiling, _'I'm not going to make it out of this alive.'_

"Enjoying my hospitality?"

Taiahna jumped, startled by the voice that had interrupted her private nightmare. It was Lord Dilandau. His arrival betokened the transformation of nightmare into horrible reality.

"My former guests." he said with a demonic smile as he motioned towards the walls and ceiling. She saw the shadows of the guards float away from the tent, presumably to give them privacy. Now was her chance.

"You MONSTER!" she cried, swinging for his face with her small knife. He merely laughed, easily blocking the attack and lifting her by her upper arms.

'_She may be a sword fighter,'_ he thought, _'but she could never hope to overpower my brute strength.'_

He kissed her roughly, and she bit hard into his tongue, drawing blood. The coppery tang that invaded his mouth only made his smile wider. He sighed, reminiscing.

'_How long has it been since I have tasted my _own_ blood?'_ He basked in the taste as thought it were an extreme luxury. _'Too long.' _He wiped the blood from his mouth and moved to kiss her again. She kicked at his shins in a wild panic to escape.

"So you like it rough, do you wench?" He tripped her onto the cot, pinning her there with his body weight. He kissed her deeply while unlacing the tie of his pants with one hand and exploring up the front of her shirt with the other.

It was a horrible feeling; being pressed between the hard cot and his sweaty, warm body, without recourse, molested by his powerful hands. She had never been this close to a man before and was terrified. For a moment she thought of surrendering herself to him, just closing her eyes and leaving whatever happened to happen.

Then it all came back to her; the screams of the dying, the fire, the blood spattered onto her pale face as the people she loved were cut down around her.

She dug her nails deeply into the back of the man on top of her, raking them downward, and violently brought her knee up to connect with his groin. He curled in on himself in response to the intense pain that accosted him. She took this opportunity to grab his sword, and flee for her life.

"I _will_ get you!" he managed utter, with a vicious gleam in his bloodthirsty eyes. "You've just made this much, much harder on yourself I'm afraid." Finally managing to stand up, he ran to the entrance, searching for her long streamer of hair among the soldiers, but to no avail. The camp was dark. He pulled his pants up and went to Gatti, who was standing nearby. He lifted the boy by the front of his uniform.

"_Did you see her_?" he asked with such malice, his officer could do nothing but stutter nonsense.

"Ah, buh, I..."

"I TIRE OF THIS GAME!" the Lord cried as he threw his officer to the ground.

"WHERE ARE YOU WHORE?!" he yelled, alerting the entire army. Taiahna heard him even as she was nearing the gates. It only gave her the incentive to run faster. She exited the city walls, saying a quick prayer for her three friends.

She looked around the open farmers' fields.

'_Now what am I going to do?'_ Then she remembered his words : 'Tomorrow we move on to Koriella.' She glanced to the valley in the north and spotted the torches on the city walls in the distance. She knew it was about three hours walk to get there.

'_I have to warn them. I have to save them from those monsters.'_

She took off at a running pace, hoping to get over the first hill before any pursuing guards reached the gates. It wasn't far, and when she arrived she laid low for a few minutes to catch her breath. All she could hear was the sound of her own heart beating. Then came a noise that almost made her heart stop. It was a horse, coming straight towards her. She clutched Dilandau's sword tightly in her sweaty palms, ready for whoever came her way. As soon as the man crested the hill she knocked him from his horse and plunged her sword into his chest before he ever saw who hit him. She mounted his horse and rode towards the north, and Koriella.

End Part One

O0O0O0O

Will Taiahna reach Koriella in time, or will Lord Dilandau find her? And if so, what will he do?

Part Two in revised format is coming soon.

Please review!

Many thanks,

Planeswalker


	2. Disturbing Dreams

Revised!

Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne. Nope. ::Sighs:: At least not yet... ::Dilly grin::

O0O0O0O

"DAMN IT!" cried the frustrated lord. Folken arrived in Dilandau's tent in a hurry. He wanted to assure there was nothing wrong with his warlord. Well, nothing worse than usual...

"What is it?"

"That BITCH!" he yelled, slamming his dagger into the table sending splinters flying in all directions. He was imagining the table was her head.

'_How dare she. I was going to have so much fun with her.'_ He bit his lower lip and frowned, much like a child whose toy had been abruptly taken away from him._ 'When I get my hands on her I'm going to...'_

He was pulled out of his sadistic daydream by Folken's voice transforming his delirious grin back to an angry scowl.

"Dilandau! What happened to the girl?"

"What do you think? She got away, that's what! And it's _Lord_ Dilandau." Folken ignored the warlord's last comment.

"How could you let her get away? Now she knows our battle plans! She'll be on her way to Koriella to warn the city!" Dilandau crossed his arms and slouched down in his seat.

"So what if she's gone?"

'_My plaything is gone.' _

He jolted upright in his seat, having struck one of the places on his back her nails had scraped. He reached down the back of his shirt to find out how much damage her fingernails had done. The cuts were fairly deep, and stung to the touch. When he with withdrew his hand, his index finger was covered in blood. He smiled and licked it off, savouring the taste. Folken shuddered involuntarily. He'd seen him do that more then once before, but he knew he'd never get used to it.

"The girl will alert the rest of the small cities of the north as we go, always one step ahead. You shouldn't have let her get away."

Dilandau stood up and removed his blood soaked shirt, giving Folken a clear view of his back and the ten red welts it sported.

"Do you think I'd let her get away on purpose?" he asked bitterly. He pulled on a clean black shirt, his logic being, if the blood soaked through it wouldn't show. He couldn't let his men see that he had been injured by a mere woman.

"You've got to get her back before she can do more damage." Folken announced plainly.

"But what if she's in the city already? How I am supposed to get at her?"

"I leave that up to you."

Dilandau smiled malevolently, sending shivers down Folken's spine.

"But don't kill too many villagers." he added hastily seeing the twisted look on the warlord's face. "They might become suspicious and evacuate."

Dilandau had already started strapping on light armour.

"I'll leave tonight."

"Tonight?" asked Folken in surprise, "Don't you want to oversee the troops tomorrow morning?"

"I will be back by then." he pronounced while pulling on his black leather gloves. _'Black gloves for black deeds.' _he thought. "And if for some strange reason I'm not, you're capable enough." He reached for his sword, only to discover it was gone.

"Arg! That stupid girl!" he cried in frustration. "What has she not disrupted?!" Folken smiled silently and the Lord's frustration.

"What the hell are you smiling about?!" he yelled slamming his fist onto the table.

"Nothing. Now be on your way. Perhaps if you hurry, you can catch her before she reaches the city."

"Yes." he ran his fingers down his scar while he considered what he would do when he caught her, "Perhaps..."

O0O0O0O

"Where's the palace? Please! Someone has to take me there! It's an emergency!"

Taiahna realized she must look frightful; a woman running through the middle of the business section of a fairly large city at dusk wearing completely ripped and bloody clothing with a sword in hand. In her panic to escape, she had not taken its sheath. She ran up to a member of the city guard.

"Please sir! Palace?" Koriella was quite a bit larger then Seldory, it being the hub of one of three middle-sized counties on the way to Fanalia. Since she had never been there before, she overwhelmed by the size of the city and at a loss for were exactly she needed to go.

"Why are you all bloody, girl?" asked the guard, "Where are your parents?" Taihana stiffened at the second question. She went to reply to the man, but after her run through the city (she had left the horse outside the gates to graze), she was out of breath and her reply came in short gasps.

"Sir... Battle... Seldory... Alive! Silver haired... monsters... Slayers! See... Duke!"

"Whoa! Calm down girl! Catch your breath and I'll lead you to the duke." He began walking, motioning for her to follow. "By the shape you're in it looks like there was some sort of battle. You can call me Rod." She nodded her head vigorously. After a few minutes of slow walking, she caught her breath.

"Well, Rod, there was a battle at Seldory. The whole village was slaughtered! It's the Zaibach army, they're coming here, tomorrow!" The guard grew pale."Tomorrow?! Quick- come with me!" He grabbed her by the wrist and led her around a corner. As they sprinted through the streets a large manor upon a hill soon became visible.

When they arrived the guard ran straight through the doors, giving a quick salute to the men guarding the gates. They ran down several marble hallways until they stopped at last at large dining room.

"Duke Hanley!" he cried, addressing an elderly man who was finishing his supper. "Duke Hanley, The Zaibach army is coming! They have just massacred the entire town of Seldory! This girl is the only survivor!" The elderly man spat out his wine all over the table.

"What?! What do you mean _the_ _only_ _survivor_?!"

"You hear me sir! Those Dragon Slayers must be behind this!" The duke turned to Taiahna, a look of dire seriousness on his face.

"Are you absolutely sure child?"

"Yes." she replied, her expression matching his own. "I was captured by, Lord Dilandau, I think he called himself, and barely managed to escape."

"Are you sure it was Dilandau?" asked the duke worriedly. "Boy with silver hair, garnet eyes?"

"Yes. That's him." A look of surprise came over the duke's face.

"You actually escaped from him?" the man clutched at the silken tablecloth. "Oh no. He'll be wanting revenge then."

"What shall I tell the guards?" asked Roderick. The duke's face grew stern once more. He may have been old, but he knew his way around a situation like this one. That was why, after all, he was still alive.

"Evacuate the women and children. Tell them there is no time. Any willing man or woman can stay and fight if they want to. Try to keep them calm."

"Is that all?" The duke considered.

"Set the crops and storehouses alight."

"What?!"

"You heard me! They'll be after our supplies, and we do not have he manpower to stop them." Hanley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. It was nine o'clock. Taiahna noticed this and suggested:

"They attacked us just after dawn."

"Then we don't have much time. Roderick, go now and alert the city." The guard saluted smartly and ran out the door.

"We've got to warn the surrounding villages as well." Taiahna remarked.

"Good idea. I'll call for my page. Charles!" A small boy ran around the corner, almost slipping on the slick marble.

"Yes?"

"I want you to notify two messengers I want them sent to the city of Eyeties with the following message: The Zaibach army has destroyed the town of Seldory and is attacking Koriella. I suspect they are moving northward. Warn the leaders of your surrounding villages. The army is hungry for blood and supplies, so make sure they get neither. Best of luck, Duke Aldus Hanley." The duke finished this on a sombre note. As soon as the page knew his duke was done dictating the message, the little boy took off down the opposing corridor, sliding again on the highly polished floor.

"You'd better follow him." said the duke, "I suppose you'll be wanting to go with the messengers?"

"No." she replied, startling the old man.

"But whyever not child? You could make it out of this alive!"

"I'm going to stay and fight. You even said any man or woman who wanted to, could."

"Fine then." said the duke, knowing he had been defeated, "I'll have the servants draw you up a bath. You can stay in my son's room for now, he is away."

"I couldn't possibly sleep!" Taiahna exclaimed, "Not after all this!"

The aged man smiled.

"I think you need sleep more then you could know."

"Well, I suppose." she replied sceptically. Hanley called for a servant to lead her to her room and draw her a bath. Taiahna's footsteps echoed eerily down the marble corridors as a weathered old woman lead the way to the room she'd be staying in. They reached a set of double doors, made of oak and carved with scenes of birds flying through the sky. She ran her finger along the edge of one of the clouds.

'_It would be nice to be free and flying now... I can't believe I'm in the middle of a war.'_

"Miss? Miss?" asked the old woman with a heavy westland accent.

"Oh sorry." Taihana blushed.

"Yo' room miss. Ere's a bath ready for ya. Master 'anley says they be some of 'is son's travellin' clothes in the armoi' that'll fit ya. Says 'e's sorry 'e don' have a propa' dress for ya. Wife died las' year, burned all her clothes, he did. Was bitter that one, he was."

"Thank you." said Taiahna, trying her best to decipher the accent. She entered the room and spotted a claw-footed tub in the adjoining bathtub, filled with steaming water. Her heart leapt at the memory of being clean. She stripped off her dirty clothes and lowered herself slowly into the water, filled with bubbly perfume. She scrubbed at the blood and dirt that covered her, hoping that if she removed the traces of the battle, she could remove the memories as well. She washed her hair as best she could and got out of the bath. The water was grey from the amount of debris she had washed from herself. She shuddered, wondering if she would ever overcome the guilt of the men she had killed. There had been too much blood on her to be hers alone.

'_Just like that boy,'_ she thought, _'although I'll bet he doesn't take the time to think of whose blood he's shed.'_

She wrapped herself in a fluffy towel and went to the armoire. She picked a simple navy blue shirt and black pants, not decorated in any way in particular. She chose a pair of boots for from the bottom for later, which were a bit big, but would have to do. She got into bed in her clothes in case the battle started sooner than expected.

Taiahna looked up at the ceiling and sighed. _'All this luxury and I don't even want to sleep.'_ As she curled up on her side her thoughts wandered to the battle, and Dilandau. She pictured him on his stallion, hair blown by the wind, the light from the fires around him giving it the seeming colour and consistency of quicksilver. She could still see his eyes flashing the colour of the blood she had drawn when she had bitten him, and his muscular body after he had removed her shirt and was bearing down on her...

'_No! That isn't right! You even said, he killed your family!'_ said her common sense.

'_Oh come on! You know you want him now like you wanted him in the tent...'_ said different voice. _'You never know, there might be some degree of goodness below that evil exterior...'_

"NEVER!" she cried at the top of lungs, and then covered her mouth, hoping belatedly no one had heard her. She rolled onto her back and sighed again, the voices replaying in her head, _'Isn't right! ...some good... You know you want him...'_

She was quickly overcome with exhaustion as the voices swept over her, this time accompanied by a strange dream:

Dilandau was there all over again, pinning her down, kissing her. She needed air, and was trying to push him away; oh, it was all so real!

She opened her eyes only to find him looking back at her, his hot breath on her cheek.

"Surprise." he whispered. He covered her mouth so she couldn't scream. She tried to roll away, but found he was straddling her.

"No escape this time." He laughed darkly into her neck.

She felt a scream building that she couldn't hold back; it ripped through her throat and... echoed through the empty room. Taihana was in bed, sitting up, covered in a sheen of cold sweat. She was breathing like she had just finished a marathon. She began to laugh nervously as she looked around the room.

"Just a dream." she whispered to herself. "All a dream." she lay down and closed her eyes. But as she slipped into the folds of unconsciousness, a voice was there whispering: _You know... You know you want him..._

O0O0O0O

As Dilandau approached the city he saw a horse emblazoned with Zaibach colours grazing by the gates. Well, that told him where Viole had gone, incompetent fool. It also told him that the girl was in the city.

He rode through the city with his cloak drawn close, his face hidden within its cowl. Should he be recognized, he would have to either abandon his search for her or fight the entire army. He told himself he would sooner fight the entire army than abandon anything.

'_I've suffered enough insult from that girl. She won't escape me this time, and she'll die a slow painful death.'_ He smiled his regular evil grin and he rubbed his hands together in his usual sadistic glee. _'But not before I have a little fun'. _He looked towards the manor on the hill. To get inside he would have to either sneak through the main gatehouse, or scale the walls. He patted the rope and grappling hook by his side. _'Haven't climbed anything in a while.'_

The Lord directed his horse around to the far side of the fence from the gatehouse. He climbed on the horse's back so that he was able to reach the top of the wall. Throwing the grappling hook up to the lowest balcony, he began his ascent. It was easy enough for him. He climbed over the railing and looked inside the room.

'_Empty. Oh well, it would ruin the fun if I found her on the first try.' _He smiled._ 'Like hide and seek...'_ He exited the room through double oak doors and swore he heard a familiar scream from a room down the hall and crept towards it as fluidly and silently as any night predator.

He came to a door with flying birds carved into it, and heard the heavy breathing of a woman behind it, like someone was having a nightmare. Laughing quietly, he wondered if her nightmare was about him. Her breathing quieted. After a few minutes he assumed she had fallen back asleep, and he opened the door and went inside.

'_What an easy game this is.' _He approached the bed and slowly pulled back the covers. _'Finally I can- WHAT?!'_

In the place where she would have been, there were pillows, lined up to imitate her form beneath the blankets. He felt the tip of a sword pressing between his shoulder blades.

"Surprise." she whispered. Dilandau spat out a long string of curses. "Tch, tch, boy. No reason to use such foul language in front of a lady."

Dilandau sneered. "Well then I suppose it's alright for me to swear, because I'm not the boy you are addressing, and there are no ladies present."

Taiahna pressed the steel harder into his back and gritted her teeth. This boy was beginning to try her patience. "Give me one reason I shouldn't run you through, here and now."

Dilandau thought for a second and decided to take a gamble. "Because you want me."

She gasped. _'How could he possibly...'_

"I heard you talking in your sleep. You were screaming my name. It's obvious what you were dreaming about."

'_Yes! My plan is working! Now I'll put her even more off guard.'_

He turned around slowly to face her and did his best to smile honestly.

'_How forced is that?'_ she thought, disgusted.This was almost more frightening. _'How long has it been since the last time he smiled this way for real?'_

"I'm here because I want you too." he went on, "You know there has to be some good in me." He lowered his eyes, and then glanced up at her seductively. "You know you want me."

'_He killed my_ _family... has to be some good... you know you want him...'_

Then she realized, those voices she heard earlier, they were telling her the future. She remembered the vision. If she listened to him and the voices, the vision would be her future.

"No!" she cried sternly, like mother reprimanding her child. "I don't believe you!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! Now get moving! I'm bringing you to the duke."

Roderick had been patrolling the hallways when he heard Taiahna scream 'No!'. He headed to the room and knocked on the door.

"Miss Taiahna? Are you alright in there?"

"Come in quickly Rod, I've caught someone that might interest you." He walked into the room to find Taiahna holding her sword to the neck of...

"Lord Dilandau?" he cried in amazement.

"The One and Only." commented the lord in question rather bitterly. _'Damn. The whole army will be in here in minute.' _Dilandau took this moment to grip Taiahna's, originally his, sword by the blade and wrench it from her grasp. He gritted his teeth to hold back a cry of pain as it bit deeply into his left hand, leaving two parallel cuts. He did not have enough time to let it hinder him; he took the sword in his right hand and decapitated Roderick with one blow. He was contemplating what to do with Taiahna when he heard footsteps along the corridor. _'More guards. I can't fight with this hand, even if it's not my sword hand. The cuts are deep, I'll lose too much blood. Time to make my getaway.' _

"Don't be mistaken girl!" he cried while running for the balcony, "I will get you!" with that said he jumped from the railing. Taiahna ran to the balcony to see how he was going to manage to live through such a feat. She spotted him climbing down a rope that was attached to the balcony of an empty room one story lower. She turned to the door, expecting a guard, but the face that greeted her was not that of a soldier, but that of Charles, the duke's page. She ran to him and gave him a hug. The startled boy stuttered:

"Um, uh, Miss?" He blushed furiously. "Why, um..."

"Thank you so much!" she cried, holding him at arms length.

"Wh- why?"

"You've just saved my life!"

"I- I have?" the twelve year old, small for his age, squeaked. He then spotted Roderick, or rather, Roderick's head lying a few feet away. He turned visibly green and held his stomach.

"Can we leave this room?" he asked quietly. They walked into the hallway.

"I had better get someone to see to Roderick," the boy paused, looking pained "and his head... But before I do that, I have a message for you from the duke. He said that you should leave the city because a number of guards have spotted a black cloaked man near the walls, quite suspicious. He thinks it's Dilandau. But, he's been here, hasn't he?" He said the last bit more like a statement than a question.

"Yes." she replied sombrely.

"He said you should go see him in his study. I'll take you there now."

"Alright." she replied. The two walked down several corridors. Every little sound she heard, Taiahna turned her head, sure it was Dilandau. She entered a small room with a great oaken desk that took up nearly off of the room and stacks of books occupying what floor space remained.

"Taiahna," the duke began, "it is imperative that you leave, there is a-"

"I know. It was Dilandau. He killed Roderick, but now he's gone."

"I scared him away!" piped in Charles proudly from the doorway.

"Oh dear." said the old duke, "This is a great problem. A great problem indeed."

"What else could possibly be wrong?" asked Taiahna, exhausted from all of this intrigue.

"Well the army is on its way, and now they know where you are. Nothing will stop Dilandau's revenge now. You have eluded him twice, which is for him, I'm afraid, two times too many."

"You mean you think he'll come after me with the entire Zaibach army?"

"His honour will demand for no less. You should go, now. To Eyeties."

"Eyeties?"

"Yes. It's the next largest city on the way to Fanelia."

Taiahna paused, thinking through her options, which seemed to be diminishing by the second. "Alright I'll go."

"I have only one favour to ask of you."

"I'll do anything, you've done your best to protect me."

"Please child, take Charles with you. He's an orphan."

"Me?" squeaked the boy from the door.

Taiahna regarded him grudgingly. _'Well, he has no family. That's something we have in common, and he did save my life, even thought it was by accident. It's the least I can do.' _"Alright."

The old Duke smiled and handed her a pouch of coins. "This should keep you going for a while. There are two horses ready in the stables. You needn't worry, their saddlebags are over-packed for the four day journey." He handed her a map of the north, showing the route from Seldory to Fanelia. "This should show you the way well enough. Good luck and may the gods lighten your mounts' feet so that you may reach your destination safely and swiftly."

"May they also protect your home and family." said Taiahna. That was the formal reply after all. She started to leave, but turned around, ran back, and gave the duke a hug.

"Goodbye, and thank you."

She followed Charles down to the stables. They found their mounts without difficulty and began down the well-marked road to Eyeties.

O0O0O0O

From the crest of a nearby hill, Dilandau could see Taiahna riding down the road. Noticing a second horse accompanying her, he grew wary. _'Would the duke send a trained bodyguard? Probably, knowing that old fool... Well, he will be most disappointed when he discovers both she and her protector are dead.'_ He repressed the desire to fly down the hill and dispatch them both, knowing the whole operation would probably take less than an hour, but the sky was beginning to lighten, and he knew he had to return to his army.

"Damn..." he muttered into the warm mid-summer air. "Oh well, I suppose personal vengeance will just have to wait for a day or two." He turned his horse in the direction of his camp. "Don't get any illusions of security, girl. I'm only a heartbeat behind you, and when I catch you, you'll have no heartbeat to speak of."

Dilandau cackled and grinned evilly at his own witticism as he spurred his great, dark charge on its way.

'

_Only a heartbeat girl... only a heartbeat...'_

End Part Two

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Well there's Part Two!

Oh yeah, almost forgot.

Thank you SkullyCat Marie! You mentioned tag so I thought of hide and go seek! There's gonna be more use of that next part. Because of the great idea, you said that Dilly should get her. Well I am still deciding, but the chances are, Dilly will get the red-haired woman right where he wants her... We'll have to see.

Thank you all you people who reviewed Part One! Part Three in the making!

Please review! It would mean a lot!

New A/Notes: What I've decided to do is turn the prologue of the sequel of this fic into the epilogue of this fic, and for now work exclusively on editing this story before moving on to its sequel.

I'm getting through a chapter every couple days or so. It shouldn't be long before the sequel is in the works again :)

Planeswalker


	3. The Rhythm of Battle

Revised, suckers!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, or any of the characters except for Taiahna (she is definitely mine) and the man in black (who is also mine, and yes he has a name, you just don't know it yet.) To Chibi-Stacey and Steph: Yes he is who you think he is.

Old A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to put out! Without further ado, let me present: Chapter 3 of Ash, Bloodlust and Betrayal. Oh yeah! Almost forgot: Dilly gets the red-haired woman.

O0O0O0O

"Can we take a rest, Taiahna?" asked Charles in an incredibly whiny voice.

"For the last time, NO!" she cried in frustration.

"But why not?" asked the boy. Taiahna knew it was a mistake to bring him, but she really did owe the duke, and he had asked this favour of her.

"Why not Taiahna?" he repeated.

"I'll put it this way: We can stop now-"

"Yay!" he cried sliding from his saddle, "My behind was getting sore from all this riding and-"

"I'm not done. We can stop now, if you want to be killed by the Zaibach army."

Charles hastily got back onto his horse. "Well, maybe we should keep going after all." Taiahna shook her head and smiled, falling into line behind Charles' horse. "A wise choice."

"Taiahna?"

Her face darkened into an expression that could have stopped the entire Zaibach army in its tracks. Her eye began to twitch subtly.

"What, Is, It, Now, _Charles_."

"Do you think Duke Hanley will be alright?" he asked in a quiet voice. Taiahna's expression softened considerably. She patted the boy on the back.

"For his sake, and for the sake of Koriella, I sure hope so."

O0O0O0O

"Do you think he'll be able to fight?"

"For his sake, and for the sake of the Zaibach army, I sure hope so."

Two of Dilandau's Dragon Slayers were discussing their Lord's whereabouts when he came tearing through the camp. Men scattered in all directions, and those who did not move fast enough were trampled by Dilandau's black stallion. He dismounted in front of his tent, shoving the saluting Dragon Slayers roughly to the side.

He entered his bloodstained tent and riffled through the maps of the city of Koriella he had lain out on the table earlier that day. Folken came running into the tent, hoping Dilandau wasn't as upset as he had been earlier.

"What is it?" he asked the fuming warlord breathlessly.

"Here it is." He unrolled a map of the city of Koriella over the wooden table, pitted from the many times he had used it to support his dagger.

"There." Dilandau pointed a gloved finger to a small back exit of the town. "That's where they're evacuating from."

Folken stared, clearly confused. "And...?"

"We'll send one third of the army through the main gates. Our numbers are so large, they won't realize what we're planning until it's too late..." he trailed off into a bloodthirsty smile rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Until... what?"

Dilandau smacked Folken over the back of the head. "You idiot! We'll send the other two thirds of the army through the back gates where the civilians will be leaving from."

"But Dilandau! Those will be mostly the women and children!" Dilandau waved his hand in dismissal of the fact, as though it didn't matter he would be killing thousands of helpless citizens.

"Of course they will be. With the woman and children dead the men will be dispirited, and there will be no one to warn the other cities of our arrival this time. No one leaves the city walls, unless they're our men, or they're dead."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna and Charles had just entered the first of many forests on the way north to the city of Fanelia. Charles was setting a record for some sort of endurance whining championship.

'

_Always Taiahna I want this, and Taiahna do that. I'm not his servant!!'_

"Taiahna?"

"WHAT IS IT?"

Charles no longer quailed beneath her shadow. Unlike the members of Duke Hanley's staff, she wouldn't hit him.

"I think there's someone following us."

Now Taiahna didn't know what to make of this. She had lived in a small town all of her life, and despite her thorough knowledge of swordplay and horseback riding taught to her by her friends, she was ignorant of much else besides what she'd picked up on the streets. In other words, she wouldn't know of someone was following them until they came right out and told them so.

"Are you sure Charles?"

"Well, no. I thought you might know."

'_Oh this is just excellent. There's a possibility we're being being followed by someone neither of us can see.' _Then a horrible thought struck her._ 'What if it's Dilandau?' _

"I'm sorry Charles, but I don't know. We'll just have to pick up the pace."

Not too far away in the woods, a man dressed all in black with hair to match and piercing green eyes cursed silently.

"I'll have to be more careful," he scolded himself silently, "if a child knows I'm here."

O0O0O0O

The Zaibach soldiers burst through the front gates of Koriella with a triumphant cry. They fought their way through the defenders almost mechanically. The number of cities they had entered, pillaged and burned was unfathomable; the entire north practically. The only major cities left were Eyeties and Fanalia. There had been a couple small towns along the way that were hardly worth the effort, but Lord Dilandau had commanded that ever settlement in then north be stripped of supplies and any other valuable resources, and then burnt to the ground.

Dilandau waited in anticipation of the battle, licking his lips and tightening and loosening his sword belt over and over again. Finally the back gates opened. Dilandau watched as thousands of women and children streamed through the doors.

'_I didn't want to kill a woman in front of my army before, and she may very well cause our downfall. Never again will I be weak.'_ He spurred his horse and unsheathed his sword. Quickly he fell into the patterns of war. Human flesh hissing when slit by cold steel and the cries of the dying all around him. He used the cries as his energy, his mantra. He was unstoppable. His blade rose and fell in deadly arcs over and over, to the rhythm of the battle.

'_The rhythm of battle is the heartbeat of the world. Without this, the human race would not be complete. It is a part of us. The call of our ancestors; to arms, brothers. When we do not answer we are only hurting ourselves. _The rhythm thrummed thick in his ears long, long, into the night.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna and Charles entered the city of Eyeties and headed straight for the giant mansion that was clearly visible on the far side of the city. The two dismounted and entered the building. For some strange reason, the many guards just glanced at the pair and let them through.

"Where is the duke?" asked Taiahna. The guard took one glance at them, wide eyed, and led them to the small throne room. A thin-faced man in his early thirties sat upon the throne, looking extremely bored.

"Yes, yes." he muttered. "Show them in if it's so important." his eyes fell upon them and he jumped.

"It is... ever so wonderful... to have you here..." he turned to the guard at his right. "What are their names?" he asked out of their hearing.

"The boy is obviously Charles, and the girl... I have no idea who she could be."

"Young lady," began the duke with a forced smile. What, may I ask, is your name."

"Taiahna." she said, uncertainly. _'Why are they receiving me so well if they don't know who I am? Did Hanley perhaps send a messenger ahead of us?'_

"Ah yes, of course. I received a message from Hanley not too long ago. The fellow had more messages to deliver, but I believe he's staying at the local inn, The Twin Dolphins I believe it's called. I really appreciate your coming to tell us, and I would take Charles in, but if the army is coming here, then it isn't really safe for him, is it? I recommend you go to Fanalia as soon as possible. We're already preparing our troops for the final stand against the Zaibach army."

"I'm sorry to contradict you, my Lord, but there is no way you can defeat the army. I suggest you evacuate the city as soon as possible and withdraw your troops to Fanalia and stand there to defeat the army."

The duke turned purple, and the advisors standing in various places around the room began to murmur excitedly. Obviously, not many people contradicted the him. The duke, who was fighting to regain his composure, smiled painfully and pointed to the door.

"You shall find no room to sleep here tonight Taiahna. You are dismissed."

"But I-" began Taiahna, but a pair of guards took her and Charles by the arms and dragged them from the throne room. As soon as the heavy double doors closed behind them, they heard a muffled, yet obvious laughter ringing throughout the hall.

"Fine then." she sniffed after they had cleared the gates. "We'll stay at the inn. It's probably nicer anyhow." Taiahna stuck her nose in the air, gathered up her horse's reins and began walking. Charles doubled over with laughter.

"Did you see the duke?!" he asked between giggles. He frowned and puffed out his cheeks, imitating the Duke in his moment of rage. "You are dismissed." His voice changed to a falsetto tone, "But I am the queen of the world! No one refuses me!" Taiahna turned around and glared at Charles. He got the point and stopped.

Just then, a boy ran by and bumped into Taiahna.

"I'm very sorry Milady." he said quickly, and ran off in the other direction.

'_Now where have I heard that before?'_

"Wait! Come back!" she yelled after the boy, but it was too late. His face was lost in the sea of people milling about in the early morning sun.

"Hey Taiahna! Look at this! It's just our luck!" Charles held up a small silver key with two identical dolphins engraved upon it. "The Twin Dolphins! It's a room key!" Taiahna made a dive for it and missed.

"Oh no you don't."

"But why not? It's free."

Taiahna considered this. It was true that their sacs of gold had lightened considerably along the way. Also, they had awoken one morning to find one of their saddlebags gone, so they had been forced to buy food in small settlements along the way.

"Well, I suppose."

"Yeah! A real bed!"

The two walked until they came upon a large building with 'Twin Dolphins' painted on a signpost hanging from the railing of a balcony.

"It's a good thing we kept that key." said Charles. "Otherwise, there's no way we could have afforded to stay here!" They entered the building and walked up to the bar. Taiahna spotted a rack where room keys were being held, and noticed there was only one left hanging.

'_This must be a really busy place.' _

An old, sour looking woman walked up to her. "Can I help you dear?"

"I, um... My friend got a room for me here, because he knew I was coming to town and he knew this place was always very busy. He just gave my the key, and I don't know which room is mine."

"Let me see that key of yours. Ohhhhh. Must be some friend you have there dearie."

"Why?" asked Taiahna, clearly confused

"This is the key for the honeymoon suite."

"Oh, um... I know... He just wanted to get a nice room for my brother and I, and he said that there were no other nice rooms left."

"Of course dear." The old woman winked at her. "Of course he did." Charles snickered quietly behind his hand at his 'sister's' poor lying abilities. The old woman led them to the room with the balcony. Charles ran into the room and dove for the bed.

"Whoa!" cried Charles jumping on the bed. "That kid in the street had pretty good taste!"

Taiahna was getting a very different feeling about the room however.

Suddenly, the world around her turned black. Then there was suddenly moonlight pouring in from the balcony. _'Not another vision.'_ But this time, it was like she was watching from afar. She watched as Lord Dilandau entered the room. _'NO!' _she tried to yell, but nothing came out. She watched as he slowly removed his clothes and climbed in bed with a red-haired woman. She could not see clearly, but what she saw all too clearly, was the red-haired woman kissing him passionately.

_"You'd never believe how long I've been looking forward to this."_ _he said, twirling a piece of red hair between his fingers. _

"_Me too Dil, me too."_

"NO! NEVER!"

"What's wrong Taiahna?" asked Charles with a concerned look on his face. She looked around the room. It was day. There was no one in the room besides her and Charles. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that all about."

"...nothing, Charles. Nothing at all."

O0O0O0O

Lord Dilandau approached the darkened gates of the city of Eyeties. Chesta came running from the shadows and knelt before his commander.

"The girl has the key Lord Dilandau."

"Very good Chesta." Dilandau dismounted and handed the reins over to Chesta. "If you like, you may ride my horse back to the army." Chesta's eyes opened wide.

"I can ride your horse?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes." he replied, exasperated. "My horse isn't going to get back on it's own and it would be foolish of you to waste your energy walking back before a battle."

"How will you get back?"

"I won't. I'll be waiting here for the army. Now go." Chesta saluted, mounted the horse and took off. Dilandau muttered something about how the Dragon Slayers acted more like pets then soldiers and he headed for The Twin Dolphins. It was child's play forcing the lock, and he climbed the stairs to where the room was located. He crept down the hall of the inn as silently and inconspicuously as a shadow. He tightened the grip on his dagger as he heard the sound of a door opening.

'_That's got to be him! The bodyguard!'_ Dilandau took this opportunity to knock the man to the ground and quickly slit his throat. He examined the corpse with disgust visible on his face.

"What a pathetic bodyguard." he muttered, "Practically a boy." He shrugged his shoulders and entered the darkened room.

"Hello."

The woman beneath the covers didn't even so much as twitch.

"Dil?"

Dilandau started. _'How could she possibly know?'_

"Yes... It's me."

"I was wondering what took you so long to get here." Again this put him off guard.

"You were waiting for me?"

"Of course I was. Why else would I be lying in bed naked?"

'_What is wrong with this woman?! She runs away from me for a week, only for me to find her expecting me when I catch her?'_

"What took you so long to get to the room?"

"I had to kill the man in the hallway." he said uncertainly. She shook her head and sighed.

"Why? You're never violent Dil."

Dilandau threw back his head and laughed. _'Even at a time like this she still has a sense of humour.' _Dilandau's garnet eyes gleamed hungrily in the sparse moonlight. _'I like it.'_

"I've been waiting so long for this."

"And I." _'How strange. Why would she just give in?' _Dilandau's common sense left him for his usual line of thinking. _'Oh well. She probably knew she couldn't run forever and the whore just wanted one more good lay before I slit her open.' _Dilandau rubbed his red gloved hands together and cracked his knuckles. _'Enough talk.'_ He quickly shed his clothing and climbed into bed with her. She kissed him deeply. For a while, he just lay there, playing with a crimson lock of her hair, savouring his victory.

"You'd never believe how long I've been looking forward to this."

"Me to Dil, me too."

She slid under the covers. Dilandau groaned. _'And judging by where she's putting her hands...'_ "Oh!" he cried in surprise. _'And mouth... I think it's fair to say she's been looking forward to this too.'_

O0O0O0O

BANG 

"Hn?"

BANG! BANG! 

Charles awoke with a start in the middle of the night. He climbed down from the bed and walked across the floor to where Taiahna had her bedroll lain out. He shook her gently.

"Taiahna? Taiahna?" She began to roll over slowly, but another loud BANG! invaded the quiet of the room and she sat bolt upright.

"What is it?! Where are they?! Don't worry Charles! I won't let them get you!" The little boy laughed at his 'protector' and explained.

"There's no one breaking down the door Taiahna." he managed between giggles. Taiahna realized the boy was right and she walked over to the wall where the noise was emanating from and put an ear to it. All she could hear was the occasional loud BANG! of what she supposed was the headboard of the bed in the next room over and the cries of a woman.

"That's what we get for moving into the room next door to the honeymoon suite."

"OH! DIL!"She heard the woman cry.

'_Dil?!' _She thought worriedly. _'No. It couldn't be.'_ She listened carefully to the noises.

"So you like that, do you whore?" She heard the man's voice ask, followed by another jarring BANG!

'_Oh Creator. There's no mistaking that voice. It _is_ him.'_

"I never guessed you for a pervert, Taiahna." smirked the young boy.

"Shut it Charles. It's Lord Dilandau. He's in next room."

"What?!" he cried.

"Shh." she whispered putting a finger to her lips. "We have to get out of here before he realizes that woman isn't me." Charles' eyes grew wide with realization.

"He's wanting to do that..." he pointed at the wall, "to you?" he squeaked.

"That's _exactly_ why we're running away."

Charles got to work immediately, gathering their things and helping to fold the bedroll. They crept silently down to the stables, barely taking time to adjust the horses' packs, and rode for the city gates.

O0O0O0O

Dilandau lay in bed with the woman catching his breath. He reached over to the bedside table where he had left his dagger and twirled it around in his fingers.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, but you knew it was coming."

"What are you talking about Dil?"

He smiled and toyed with a strand of the woman's scarlet hair.

"Oh come on. Don't feign ignorance with me, it won't work. As much as I'd like to keep you alive, you destroyed my honour by knocking me off my horse during battle and although I have to admit tonight was, well, rather amusing, I am forced to slit your throat all the same."

"Dil. That isn't funny."

She tried to climb out of bed, but he used his own body to pin her down. He positioned the blade over her neck.

"Dilbert of Araz I don't find this funny in the least!"

"What did you call me?!" the warlord cried in surprise.

"Your name! Dilbert of Araz! Now get off me! I do no find this amusing!"

Dilandau cursed in realization and slit her throat all the same. He slid out of bed, and lit the candle on the bedside table. He held it close to her colour drained face. This was definitely not the right woman.

"What a waste of time!" He threw the still lit candle onto the bed. "What a damned waste of time." He looked back at the woman's naked body and then at his clothes on the ground. He smiled as he pulled them on. _'Well, maybe not a total waste.' _He adjusted his diadem in the mirror by the firelight of the bed, whose flames were now licking the ceiling. He walked over to the balcony and scanned the night. Two figures on horseback were leaving the city. They were heading straight for Fanalia, the farthest point to the north.

"Go ahead." he said to the empty room. "Go to Fanalia. That's where we're headed anyway. You'll be trapped, because we're putting siege on Fanalia. And the best part is..." he broke of into laughter laced with insanity. "The best part is, they don't even know it yet." He trailed of into laughter once more that rang through the still night. But little did he know there was a man, standing outside of the door, listening to all the warlord said.

"I've got to get to Fanalia." the man whispered, brushing a wisp of black hair away from his intense green eyes. He moved swiftly down the hallway towards the stables, and his own horse. Dilandau didn't even notice the footfalls; he was too busy watching the room burn with a evilly tainted look of wonder on his face. When the fire brigade arrived, what they saw across the flames before he leapt from the balcony, features lit up eerily, was not a boy, or a man, but the keeper himself.

End Part Three

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Who is this mysterious green-eyed man? Will he make it to Fanalia in time?

Well. That's all for now. The next part should be out faster then this one. I've been busy lately with the new semester starting and my Grade 5 piano Conservatory exam coming up soon. ::Sigh::

Wish me luck! .

New A/N: Next chapter revised coming sooooon

Planeswalker


	4. Hands Where They Shouldn't Be...

Revised.

New A/N: To anyone who's read this fic before, they can expect a brand new section in this chapter :) There are a couple places in this fic I felt needed filling out. This be one of them (yarr). Enjoy.

Old A/N: I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this took so long to get finished! A hugely large thank-you goes out to all the people who've reviewed my fic. Thank-you all for waiting (probably not so) patiently for this next part to be done. This ended up being way longer then I thought I'd be because I had to add this gigantic part in the middle so... I split it up into one and a half parts. That means, for those of you out there that don't speak Me language, part five entitled: Angels With Broken Wings is gonna be extremely soon. Now on to the

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. I do, however, own several minor characters as well as Charles, Taiahna and Midori Ido. So don't take em!!

O0O0O0O

Folken walked through the war camp with an air of unhidden disgust distorting his aquiline features. He picked his way through the soldiers to the other side of the twilight field where Lord Dilandau had pitched his tent.

"How he can keep company with such lowlifes is an amazement to me." he muttered. He arrived at his destination and entered the tent.

"Dilandau I-" began Folken, but what he saw made him stop short. The boy waS lying in bed, stroking somebody else's hair. Whoever it was, was blocked from Folken view.

"And just because of this favour, don't expect any special treatment." he informed the other, his voice filled with the same nefarious quality as always. The other gave a small gasp and hid quickly beneath the covers. Dilandau rolled over, unconcerned, and looked Folken in the eyes.

"Do you mind, Strategos?" he asked.

"I... um... oh how embarrassing." moaned Folken.

"Ha! You will never understand the full extent of the word 'embarrassment'! I'll start with the basics, shall I?" he asked the rhetorical question in absolute sarcasm. "Up until a few months ago, I would randomly, and frequently I might add, turn into a woman. That problem, of course, has been remedied by yourself. I still have some of my counterpart's likes and dislikes, but at least I'm officially one hundred percent male.

"If that isn't enough, just in these past couple weeks I've managed to get myself knocked from my horse and nearly killed by a girl. You know what happened both times upon attempting to take revenge."

Folken just stared at Dilandau, who was attempting to restore some order to his hair by finger combing it, while he searched for something to say.

"I really meant how embarrassing for you," he recovered quickly, "but now after what I've heard, I suppose this incident pales in comparison. And I hadn't heard what happened when you went after the girl."

"Well then, you must be the only one in the army." He smiled mockingly. "I'll tell you about it sometime. Now did you come in here just to invade my privacy, or did you actually have something to say?"

"Oh, yes I did... I heard that you were going after that girl again. I think you had better leave instructions for the 'Slayers before you leave."

"Sure." he waved his hand in an uncommitted fashion. "Just have them together in a couple minutes while I get decent."

"Of course." he quickly withdrew from the tent hoping to save himself and Dilandau from further embarrassment. After a few minutes he had found all the Dragon Slayers, except one.

"Chesta,"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Miguel?"

"No sir, none of us have seen him for a while. He said something about going to speak with Dilandau."

Folken grew very pale.

"Sir?"

"That will do Shesta." he managed to stammer. _'Could that have been...?' _Folken shuddered. _'What he does in his own time is his own business. But Dilandau did say he had kept some of Celena's likes and dislikes...'_ Folken attempted to push these disturbing thoughts out of his mind. Just then, Miguel came running over the hill smiling. He saw Folken and his smile disappeared, deliberately avoiding eye contact. This proved ultimately to Folken what he had supposed was true. Strategos attempted a smile, his lips pressed into a thin, grim line as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. _'His own business.'_

O0O0O0O

"Taiahna?"

"By the Creator, you are the most annoying child I've ever known!"

'_Such a familiar scene, unfortunately.'_ she thought contemptuously. She was mulling over the possibility of strangling the life out of the boy and throwing his broken body into the woods for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. Her horse trod on a stick making a cracking noise. It also made Taiahna jump up in the saddle, and look around wildly. She was sure that a certain maniacal warlord was about to jump down from the trees and behead her at any moment.

"Taiahna?"

The redhead simply mustered something not too much unlike a growl and tried to tune the boy's voice out.

'_All too familiar. My body is sore from the endless rides on horse back, my head is sore from the endless whining of that boy, and if that isn't enough, that stupid coughing in the forest is distracting me from my thoughts.' _Taiahna's eyes opened wide as it dawned on her. She pretended to stretch while hazarding a glance behind her and spotted a bush rustling a short ways back along the trail. She steered her horse so that it was neck and neck with Charles'.

"Charles! We're being followed."

"I know." She tugged her fingers through her hair impatiently. Pulling it so that it blocked her mouth from view to whoever, or whatever was hiding in the brush.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" she whispered, a very frustrated quality to her voice.

"I was trying to tell you, but you kept ignoring me."

Taiahna frowned. She then spotted a curve in the road ahead and smiled thoughtfully.

"Listen close Chuck, I've got a plan."

Moments later, the man in black lost sight of his targets.

"Oh, that's just excellent." he muttered,'hiding' in the trees. "First I'm almost found out by the child, now I can't even see them anymore." Suddenly he heard a loud sound coming from the woods behind him. Whatever it was screamed, and continued to barrel through the woods. By the amount of noise it was making, and by the amount of brush it was moving out of the way, he knew it had to be big. The man in black tried to run for cover, but tripped over his own feet and fell out into the centre of the road instead. Just as he had managed to right himself, a woman with long read hair tackled him to the ground and held his arms at the wrist to his back so that he couldn't move. He had twisted his right arm into some horribly painful lock that pinned him face-first to the ground and prevented him from struggling. A boy with wiry, dark-brown hair came out of the woods riding his horse, and trailing two others behind him.

"How was that, Taiahna?" asked the boy. The woman with red hair smiled.

"Just great Charles. You should have seen the look on this guy's face! Oh yes, Charles, could you bring me the rope? It's in the saddle bag on my horse, right side." Her eyes narrowed.

"Now why were you following us?"

"You can't tie me up!" the man blurted out.

Taiahna snorted. "Oh, I can, and I will."

"But I'm your bodyguard!" he cried in reponse.

Charles brought Taiahna the rope, and crouched down to look into the man's green eyes.

"What's your name?" he asked the man, poking him in the forehead.

The man straightened himself up as best he could for a man lying on his stomach with someone sitting on his back.

"My name is Midori Ido, personal bodyguard working for Duke Aldus Hanley of Koriella." he paused for a moment, "Normally, I'd bow just about there."

Now Charles narrowed his eyes. "If you're his personal bodyguard, then how come I've never seen you before. I was his page."

"Well, I'm not really supposed to tell you that." Taiahna pulled the bonds on his wrists tighter.

"I think if you look deep down inside of yourself, you'll find you can." her voice was, needless to say, full of sarcasm. Midori winced in pain.

"It's a secret. Meant to keep you safe. Besides, I'm not his bodyguard."

"That doesn't make any sense." said Taiahna. "First you say you're his bodyguard, then you say you're not."

"I said I was his bodyguard, not that I, erm, bodyguarding him. As in, he pays me, but he is not my charge."

Charles interrupted. "But that still doesn't answer my question."

"I said that it was a secret." the man responded impatiently, "I can't tell you."

Taiahna sighed. "This conversation is just going around in circles. Let's go over what we know. You say you're our bodyguard although you've never once been there to help-"

"Yes I was!" he interjected, trying to twist his head around to meet her gaze.

"When?" she asked sceptically.

"There was the time when I... Well, once I... Oh just continue what you were saying."

"Alright. You've never been there, we've never seen you. You say you work for the duke, but you weren't his bodyguard and you won't tell us who's you were. But it makes no difference, because Charles has worked for the duke for as long as he can remember and he's never seen you before. On top of all this, you have no proof you are who you are."

"Yes I do. I have a letter from Duke Hanley himself."

Taiahna eyed him suspiciously yet again. "Fine. Where is it?"

"Untie me, and I can get it out."

Taiahna laughed. "That makes the least sense of anything you've said to us Midori, if in fact that is your name. We'll untie you after we read the letter and you have gained our trust. If we untie you before, then there's no point in seeing the letter, but we have no reason to untie you until we have seen the letter!"

Charles and Midori gave each other quizzical looks.

"What I mean to say," began the captive, "is that you won't want to retrieve it."

Taiahna shrugged, an unconcerned look on her face. "Then what I mean to say is no."

"Do you really want to know where it is?"

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You tell me. Do I? Because if it's no, then you don't really want to be free."

"Okay, okay." he grumbled, "I, um, usually keep important things very close to me, so to speak."

Taiahna removed her right shoe and whacked Midori on the head with it.

"Ow!" he cried, cringing. "What was that for?"

"I want an answer, not riddles you idiot." she admonished putting her shoe back on.

"You didn't have to do that."

He could see her glaring angrily at him out of the corner of his eye. That was answer enough. "Alright. I'll tell you. I kept it in the waistband of my pants."

"What on Gaia is so bad about that?!" she exclaimed, "Why would I not want to retrieve it?"

Midori cleared his throat and began to blush furiously. "Please let me finish. I said it _was_ in my waistband, but then when you tackled me, it sort of, slid a little lower."

Taiahna's eyebrows shot up. Charles just continued looking plain confused. Then he finally realized.

"Taiahna... what are you going to do?" the boy asked.

Taiahna didn't say anything, so Midori spoke. "Well, you have several options really. You can just kill me for all the trouble I've caused you, you can untie me and trust me without the letter, you coan untie me and allow me to retrieve the letter, or you could," he paused, clearing his throat again, his voice cracking slightly, "you could reach in and get it yourself."

The redhead didn't pause for a second. She took Midori by the shoulder and, with little difficulty, flipped him onto his back. "Sadly Midori, since we can't trust you, I'll have to take option number four."

Charles scrunched his eyes closed as they all held their collective breath. Taiahna plunged her hand into Midori's pants.

His eyes opened very wide. "Augh!!"

"Whoops, that's not the letter." and a few moments later, her hand returned with a letter bearing a yellow seal with the letters A.H. stamped into it. She wasted no time opening it.

Dearest Taiahna,

I wrote this letter in the case you ever discovered Midori Ido, your bodyguard.

He is a wonderful swordsman, but a poor woodsman I am afraid. He was meant to be kept secret for your further protection. If your enemies were not aware you had a bodyguard, they would not be able to target him and kill him first, leaving you and the boy unprotected. Not that I believe you without fighting experience, I just wanted extra insurance Charles would be safe. I believe you are likely on your way to Fanelia. I would like you to know that the Zaibach army is posing a great threat to the North, and am sure you already knew this, but you should ask Midori for the details as I do not have much time left to be writing this letter. The army is on the way. Please Taiahna, take care that Charles reaches Fanelia safely. You can use this letter to gain an audience with King Van Fanel. Bring Charles to him, he will know what to do. I shall have to cut this letter short as I hear the sounds of battle in the village.

Creator protect you child,

Duke Aldus Hanley

Taiahna folder the letter while she walked over to her horse to store it in the very bottom of one of the saddlebags. She went back over to Midori who's face was still white.

"What's the matter with you, Midori?" she asked while untying his wrists. His wide-open green eyes met her deep brown ones.

"Your hands are cold!" he whispered. They all burst out laughing.

Midori stood up and brushed himself off. It looked like it would be a while before he regained his composure around Taiahna.

'_I barely even know her and she's already had her hands down my pants...' _He grinned at the thought.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Taiahna asked impatiently. "Are you going to stand there all day grinning like an idiot? Let's go. We have an army to outrun." She paused. "What exactly are they planning anyhow?"

"Well, it's simple really. They're sacking all the towns on the way to Fanelia, taking all the supplies and killing all the people. What do you think they're up to?"

Taiahna's fists clenched and unclenched as she tried to hold her anger back. "Other then being complete and total monsters I don't know what they're planning. That's why I asked you." Midori got the hint and cut to the chase. "The Zaibach army is going to put siege on Fanelia. They're collecting the supplies for themselves. They're killing the people so there can be no reinforcements or anyone to go for reinforcements, so there won't be anybody to warn them. That's why what we're doing is so important. We have to get the Fanelia so they can send a messenger to allies with a plea for help with a safe enough head start he won't be run down by the army."

Taiahna grew pale. "So then Zaibach will rule the North and the South. That's half the map... That means they can single out the East and West more easily because the two aren't allies."

"That's right."

Taiahna mounted her horse and motioned for Charles to do the same. "Then we truly have no time to lose."

Midori rubbed at his wrists and mounted his horse as well. The three took off down the forest trail.

"Oh and also..." she said, trying to sound casual, "I just thought you'd like to know that Lord Dilandau is after me."

O0O0O0O

"What?!" cried Milerna, the golden haired Queen of Asturia. Her father had died not too long ago and as her sister Ares had been married off to a western lord in a failed attempt to forge an alliance, the throne had been left to Milerna. "He went where?!"

"To Fanelia, Milady." responded the messenger.

"But, why?!"

"He said he felt like he needed a vacation."

Milerna glowered. "He said he felt like he needed a vacation." The Queen had mirrored the man's words, bu not his tone. Every word she had spoken had been saturated in anger.

"Y- yes Milady. That's what he said." stammered the messenger who was now becoming frightened. "He, uh, told me to," He swallowed nervously. "tell you he was going to F-Fanelia."

Milerna sat down and crossed her arms while she pouted much like a child would.

"Probably wanted a vacation from me..." she replied sulkily.

"He also told me to tell you he took Allen with him." informed the messenger.

"Why did he bring Allen?" she snapped.

"He says, um... I don't know if I should be telling you this." muttered the messenger, beginning to wonder why he had taken this job.

"As your Queen, I command you to tell me!" she shrieked.

"Yes Milady." replied the gentleman hastily. "He said that, he knows about young Chid as well, and-" Milerna stood and grabbed the messenger by the collar of his tunic. For one so delicate looking she had more strength then the man had expected, and probably even more than usual because she was boiling mad.

"Please Milady, don't kill the messenger!" he cried, "I am simply repeating what he told me! I have no idea what any of this means to you!"

She released the man and sat down to pout once more. "Continue then."

"He said he knows about the young Prince Chid and doesn't trust Allen alone with anyone bearing such a resemblance to Marlene. He's told Allen that he simply wanted the best bodyguard he could find for the King of Asturia."

"Fine then."

"Am I free to go Milady?" asked the messenger cautiously.

"Get out of my sight!" she fairly snarled. The man stood up straight and snapped his right fist over his heart as a salute.

"Yes Milady."

As soon as the man had left the room, two servant girls walking by who'd heard Milerna, laughed. Said one to the other:

"Oh, that Dryden is going to get it when he comes home."

O0O0O0O

The travellers decided to stop mid-afternoon at an excellent spot to camp instead of continuing into the deepest par of the forest as the light began to fade. As they dismounted from their horses to set up camp for the night, Taiahna noticed that Midori was still rubbing the wrist she had used the lock on to subdue him.

"Oh!" she cried in realization, taking his wrist into her hands, "I'm so sorry! I'd forgotten about that completely!" She squeezed several pressure points around the wrist and on his hand, and suddenly, the pain was gone.

"Why thank-you!" he managed in his surprise, opening and closing the hand and rotating the wrist in amazement. "It's perfectly fine now! How on Gaia did you do that?"

She smiled proudly. "A friend of mine from my village taught me all kinds of joint locks and submissions." her smile grew sly, "I can teach you if you want."

"Alright!"

After an hour or so of teacheing Midori different manoeuvres Taiahna proposed a proper match.Charles wandered over to watch.

"I'll be the judge!" he announced.

"So how does this work?" asked Midori.

"It's simple." Taiahna grinned. "The first one to give up, loses."

Midori grinned back, removing his loose black shirt and flinging it aside, his competitive side rising to the surface. "We'll see, shall we? I'm a quick study when it comes to fighting, you know."

Two circled each other slowly, moving closer and then farther, testing each other's reflexes.

Midori made a sudden dive for Taiahna, grabbing her around the mid-section, and tackling her to the ground, but she managed to use the momentum of her fall to flip him onto his back, placing her in the dominant position, straddling him. Midori panicked a little.

'_I can't lose! How did she get me here so quickly?'_

He tried to buck her off, but she quickly hooked her feet beneath his legs, reaching for one of his arms. As they struggled, locked together on the ground, it became apparent that neither of them were gaining ground.

'_Damn,' _she thought, _'he's a larger opponent than I'm used to... not to mention he's incredibly strong! I can hardly stay up here!' _She glared down at him in frustration, and he looked up to meet her eyes and smiled broadly, laughing. _'Augh! He's hardly winded!'_ her thoughts wandered a moment, _'...and what amazing eyes...'_

One moment of distraction was all Midori needed as his opponent reached just a little too far to be safe. He grabbed her by the wrist and twisted just so, as she had shown him, using her moment of weakness to roll her off him and onto her back. She cried out loudly in pain.

Midori stopped. "Taiahna, are you ok?"

She laughed, leaping up and onto Midori's back, catching him in a choke hold. He turned his head and inserted a hand between her arm and his neck, giving him just enough space to breathe. This only caused her to squeeze more tightly, cleaving herself to him. At that moment, feeling her breasts pressing into his back and her warm breath on the back of his neck, Midori became acutely aware that he was fighting a woman.

'_A very attractive woman...'_

She uttered a soft moan of exertion and, to tighten her grip, wrapped her legs around his waist from behind.

'_Oh Creator, is she ever flexible...'_

Taiahna gave a quick jerk, causing Midori's hand to slip from between her arm and his neck. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

'_No air!' _he thought in panic, _'NO AIR!!'_ He began to gesticulate wildly.

Charles jumped in and tapped Taiahna on the shoulder, crying "You win! Let the poor bastard go!"

The redhead released his victim and flopped onto her back, breathing heavily. Midori collapsed backwards into her lap, still seeing stars. She managed to push herself into a sitting position.

'_He sure gave me a run for my money...' _she thought, admiring his toned body, covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Midori, blinking slowly, opened his eyes and stared up at Taiahna's face, her delicate features surrounded in the curtain of her dark-red hair.Realizing what an intimate position they were in, Midori quickly stood, brushing himself off. He picked his shirt up off the ground, all at once feeling self-conscious at his semi-naked state. He cleared his throat.

"Well, um, I'm going to run to creek to rinse off." he informed her.

"Oh, great idea!" exclaimed Taiahna.

"Oh- um, I'll wait then..." said Midori, images of Taiahna bathing swimming through his head.

"I'm... just going to splash my face." she said, wondering what he had thought she'd meant.

"Of course!" he blustered, "And there's plenty of creek for the both of us! After you!"

Her eyes met Charles', the two of them sharing a moment in which they bore identical expressions; lip curled, eyebrow raised. She turned from their camp site and walked ahead of him down the path.

'_There's plenty of creek for the both of us?!' _thought Midori, cringing inwardly,_ 'Creator! I can't believe I actually just said that! ...and beaten by a woman... I can't believe it!' _He stopped feeling embarrassed long enough to enjoy the view of Taiahna from behind. His mouth curved into a wide grin. _'But what a woman...'_

O0O0O0O

For Taiahna and company, several days passed in the same way; they would wake, travel through the great forest, and stop at the best shelter they could find before the daylight began to die. This often gave Taiahna and Midori extra time to grapple or spar with swords. It became quickly apparent to Taiahna that Midori was an excellent swordsman. She could only beat him about one in every ten matches or so and she was a swordswoman of intermediate to advanced ability.

His company was enjoyable enough, as he was a good-natured fellow in general, but he had the habit of saying strange or inappropriate things in her presence.She couldn't fathom why such an otherwise agreeable fellow would say such things as 'If you're not careful with you guard, I'll soon be inside you- I mean _it_! Your guard!'. She tried her best to ignore these things, and could not deny she was developing a bit of an attraction to him; shining black hair, piercing green eyes, tall, strong, muscular... how could she not be? He was every girl's sword-wielding fantasy.The evening the three left the forest they came upon a small village just as the day was drawing to a close. They were all growing tired and were eager to spend the night in a place other then on the hard ground, and decided to book a room at a nice in to celebrate. The three walked into the inn's common room and looked for a place to sit down for a late supper.

Taiahna walked around the room, lit by a fireplace at one end. She was examining the carved rafters when she ran backwards into a very solid object. She blushed, hoping no one had seen her walking into what she assumed was a pole, and she tried to walk away when the 'pole' grabbed her by the shoulders. She let out a yelp of surprise and turned around to look up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The man's face was partially veiled by long blonde hair, which cascaded over his shoulders smoothly, like a blonde river.

"Forgive me, Milady." The man smiled warmly at Taiahna. "I was not watching where I was walking." Taiahna was a tad startled. Firstly, by the fact a 'pole' was talking to her, and secondly (when she had realized it was not a pole) by the man's strikingly handsome appearance. There was something oddly familiar about him though… _'Maybe his eyes?'_ But she couldn't remember either way, and went on fumbling for words.

"I, um, uh… it was my fault really. I was, um, looking at the rafters." The man looked up at the rafters briefly, and laughed softly. He went on speaking in his low, warm voice.

"Nice try. The rafters aren't that interesting. It really was my fault. How about I buy you dinner? I would really enjoy sitting and talking with a woman as beautiful as you."

Taiahna was a little shocked._'Someone is interested in me? Romantically?!'_

The man guessed what she'd been thinking. "You seem surprised. Has no one ever invited you to dinner before?"

"No… not really…" she answered hesitantly.

"I find ti hard to believe that no one has ever noticed a beauty such as yourself."

Taiahna blushed an even deeper shade of red. _'Isn't it ironic? I can handle the death of my family and the killing more then a dozen men, but I cannot speak to a man without losing my mind.'_

"What is you name, fair maiden?"

"Hun? Pardon?"

"Your name?" inquired the man a second time, never losing his patience.

"Taiahna Kanzaki."

"My name is Allen Sch-" A look of unbelieving recognition came onto the man's face. "What?! Did you say Kanzaki??"

"Yes… Why?"

"Then we definitely have to talk." Allen took her by the wrist and started to direct her over to a table. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Allen? I have a table over there. I've been walking around for a while and my travelling companions must be wondering where I've got to."

Allen looked a little crestfallen. "Oh. Of course." he answered without much zeal. "How inconsiderate of me."

Taiahna smiled and then took his by the hand and brought him over to the table where Midori and Charles where sitting. Charles saw Taiahna holding Allen's hand and burst out laughing.

"Didn't take you long to find someone to warm your bed!" she released Allen's hand and smacked Charles over the back of the head. The boy was not discouraged however. He just kept on laughing.

"Is he going to be expensive? He certainly doesn't look that way."

Allen didn't seem very offended.

"What's your name boy?"

Charles pouted. "I'm not a boy."

"If you're not a boy, then I'm a woman." replied the blonde with a smirk.

"That _is_ what I thought originally." sneered Charles.

"You remind me of someone that I know." said Allen to Charles. "He is a great man now, but was in his youth overly critical and sarcastic. It almost cost him the one he loved."

The boy's eyes narrowed and his hair flopped down into his eyes. _'How is it possible that he look so much like him? Could he have had a son? No. There's no way. This boy is much too old, and besides I know he wouldn't do that. Hitomi is the only one he'll ever love.'_ Allen sighed.

"Are you about done ridiculing me, boy?" Allen stood up straight to give Charles an impression of how much bigger then him he was and a clear view of his sword. On the sword was the insignia of

"The Knights Caeli!" cried Charles pointing to the insignia. "You're one of the Knights Caeli!"

"Yes, I am." He turned his attention back to Taiahna. "Could we go somewhere more private?"

Midori glowered at Allen. His green eyes had just gone a shade darker. "I am her bodyguard. She goes nowhere without me. The boy cannot be left alone therefore anything you wish to say to her can be said to us as well."

Allen smiled at Midori as though smiling at a troublesome child. "Now young man, I said I'd like to have private word with the lady."

"I know what you're implying." spoke Midori, trembling with rage and furious pride. "I am not a boy. I am the Lady Taiahna's bodyguard, and I will go with her."

"I'd be willing to bet that you couldn't protect her if your life depended on it." Commented Allen nonchalantly. Midori's hand went to the hilt of his sword.

"Then I, Midori Ido, challenge you to a duel for the Lady Taiahna."

"I, Allen Schezar, Knight Caeli and protector of the King of Asturia accepts this challenge."

Midori paled a little realizing belatedly that he had just challenged one of the best fighters on Gaia to a duel, but quickly regained his composure.

"Since it is my challenge, I will decide the place and time; in the field behind the inn, one hour from now. The rest of the terms will be decided there."

Allen smiled. "Excellent. I haven't had a chance to practice my sword fighting for ages. This will be a nice practice for me in case I run into any real opposition down the road to Fanelia."

Taiahna stood dumbfounded for a moment. She was almost choking on the testosterone. Then she spoke: "Do I get any sort of say in this?"

The two men stared at her and replied simultaneously in curt voices:

"No."

Allen gently took Taiahna's hand and kissed it tenderly. "I'll be seeing you upon the hour Milady." He walked away, up the stairs to where the rooms were.

Midori was so angry, you could almost see the steam pouring from his ears. "I'm going to cut that woman-man into little pieces. Then I'm going to throw those pieces into the fire. Then I'm going to take the ashes and throw them off a cliff. Then I'm-"

"Um… Midori… Have you realized you're speaking out loud?"

Midori blushed and mumbled something undecipherable. Charles patted him on the shoulder.

"I, for one, would really enjoy that."

Taiahna frowned. "You are not going to the duel Charles."

"But why not? I'm the one who really started the whole thing you know. Besides, you're going and you can't leave me alone."

Taiahna sighed in resignation. "I suppose. And onto more important matters..." Taiahna grabbed Midori by the collar of his black tunic. "Since when is it okay to start duels over me? You're just doing this for your stupid pride."

"No! It's because… well, Taiahna I…"

"Just as I said, you have no reason, it's for your stupid, non-existent pride!"

"Taiahna, I-" Midori pulled Taiahna to him and kissed her. He blushed furiously. "There! Now do you believe me! Ever since I saw you I… I mean I- um…" he trailed off. "I've got to go stretch now." Midori ran across the room and out the door.

Taiahna stood shocked for a moment. Then Charles spoke

"That's three already." said Charles.

"Three what?"

"Dilandau, Allen, Midori," he counted on his fingers. "Three men after you."

Taiahna narrowed her eyes. She pointed at the staircase on the far side of the room and shoved a key into his palm.

"It's the first door on the left. Go now."

Charles grumbled, but then closed his hand around the key and went.

For the whole of the hour, Midori paced nervously back and forth behind the inn. '_Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!!'_ he thought to himself, smacking himself on the forehead. "Stupid!!" he cried out to nobody.

Allen came around the corner of the building. "Why hello. I can see you're realizing your mistake of challenging me now. If you want, you can just stop now before I hurt you. I'm sure Taiahna wouldn't mind spending the night with me."

'_This is a pretty chancy bluff.'_ thought the knight. _'If she's who I think she is, there's no chance she'll be spending the night with me... but she just can't be- I'm always jumping to conclusions...'_ Just then, Taiahna came around the corner of the inn. _'Yet the her name is Kanzaki, and the resemblance is uncanny...' _

"Now that we're all here." began Midori, "I'll state the rest of the terms. What would you prefer Allen?"

"Me? It's your decision. You called me out. But if I had to choose, I'd say, hmm, first disarming."

"How about three rounds. First disarming and first blood." Allen drew his sword.

"Sounds good to me." Midori smirked.

"You will not be spending this night with the Lady Taiahna." Allen smiled, tight-lipped . _'If I tell them my suspicions now I can avoid this whole mess...oh… I might as well.'_

"You look deep in thought Allen." Commented Midori sarcastically.

"Well, you see, if what I suspect proves true, I won't be spending this night or any night with the Lady."

"What do you suspect, that you're going to lose?" laughed Midori haughtily.

"No, I suspect that she's my sister."

End Part Four

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Ooooooooooooooo!

Don't you hate me!!

I try to avoid cliffhangers. Sorry dudes! I just couldn't help myself!

Heh heh heh.

Don't worry. I swear on my picture of chibi Dilandau that part 5 will be out soon.

Note to Chibi-Stacey: AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I hold your precious seagull-boy in my bloody pyro hands! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! See you tonight. Yay! We get to watch Dil snap! Over and over and over again! sniff poor lil pyro.

Oki then! I will see you guys soon. (Figuratively )

New A/N: This chapter used to contain a teaser for chapter 5 here at the end... but because chapter 5 is online... it just kinda seemed pointless. I thought I'd let you guys know though... Next chapter there is a serious hurt laid on Van by our favourite pyromaniac :D

Planeswalker (a.k.a. Pyro-Sam)


	5. Angels With Broken Wings

Revised.

Old A/N: Hiya people!

Yay! Van-hurting-ness! Oh yeah. Warning to Van fans: he gets a SERIOUS beating in this chapter.

Message to Dil-sama fans: Rejoice and be glad for Van gets his ass kicked!!

I told it you wouldn't be too long before I was done this.

Alrighty then. That's about all I have to say for now. So I'll move on to the

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters from the show. I do own other original characters. That's all. Don't take the ones that belong to me, don't sue me for the ones that don't.

'Preciate it.

O0O0O0O

_A woman with red hair tied in two neat braid descends slowly from the sky in a giant pillar of light. She hovers just above the ground next to a man who is mortally wounded; that man is her beloved. The young woman of seventeen realizes that even thought she has just left his strange world only a week ago, many years have passed here. _

_"You haven't aged at all." says the man in surprise. The girl just stares, at a loss for words as her beloved bleeds to death in the snow. "I want you to have this." he goes on, handing the girl a pink-coloured pendant. She accepts the pendant and clutches it tightly in her hands. The girl mouths the words 'Goodbye Leon' before being raised up once more in the pillar of light. _

_Instead of landing back in the field behind her house where she was taken from, she lands on what seems to be a cloud._

_"Hello?" she cries, "Is there anyone there?"_

_"I am always with you." a booming voice answers._

_"Why can't I go home?" asks the young woman._

_"You are with child, are you not?"_

_"Yes…" she responds, "I believe I am."_

_"Then you cannot leave this world until you have given birth to the child."_

"But why?"

_"Everything and everyone on Gaia has a small bit of magic. Because the father of your child is from Gaia, your child will have a small bit of magic too. If she is taken back to the Earth, she will disrupt the physical plane and things would go very wrong." _

_The young woman places a hand protectively across her stomach. "How was I able to come to Gaia? And how do you know my child is a girl?"_

_"For your first question, you were able to come to Gaia because, although it is very rare, some people born on Earth possess a small bit of magic. You are one of those people."_

_"Then why don't _I_ disrupt the physical plane?"_

_"It is a matter of limits. The Earth can only support so much magic. Your daughter would be the breaking point."_

_"I see." she responds softly._

_"And as for your second question, I know this because I know all. I know each living thing on both worlds. I know, because I have a great hand in creating them." _

_"You're the Creator, aren't you?"_

_"That is one of my many names, yes. I am going to send you back to Gaia now. There is a man and woman who will take care of you until you give birth to the child. Keep the child's name Kanzaki."_

_"I guess I should know better then to question you, but, why?"_

_"That is how she will be recognized in the future."_

_"But, I'll be with her, won't I?" she asked anxiously._

_"No. Just as people of Gaia disrupt Earth's plane, people of Earth disrupt Gaia's."_

_"But you said that I had some magic! Like the people here. Please, let me stay with my Leon."_

_The voice says simply:"Leon Schezar has died." _

_Tears form in the girl's eyes as she clutches at her blue flowered kimono._

_"But... I can't have my Leon? Or my daughter? Why do I have to suffer this way? If you are the Creator, do something about it!!" _

_The deep tenor sighs. "I am truly sorry, but this is for the greater good. Will it bring you any happiness if I tell you that in the future you will have another daughter?" _

_The girl manages a weak smile. "Yes. I suppose so." _

_"Now I will send you back to Gaia." _

_As the warm light envelops the girl once more she cries her thanks as she floats from the dreamscape and into a snowy plain in front of a small cottage. She pats her stomach gently._

_"Well, I guess we're home."_

O0O0O0O

Dilandau crept along the castle's outer wall silently. A soldier walked just beneath him. He was tempted to jump down and slit his throat, but no, the guard would sound the alarm and the rest of his mission would be jeopardized. The warlord adjusted his black gloves as he waited for the guard to continue his watch elsewhere. As soon as the man was gone, Dilandau climbed down the other side of the wall, and slunk through the shadows towards the portcullis. A regional noble approached the gates.

'_Ah, my paid distraction.'_ The warlord smiled. _'Too bad he's never going to get that money.' _As soon as the drawbridge was down and the gates were open an arrow flew from behind and struck the man in the back. He slumped over and fell off his horse. Guards came running from everywhere towards the source of the arrow. Dilandau saw Miguel give a triumphant wave from the top of hill as he took off into the city, followed by the entire perimeter guard.

'_It's all so, so simple.' _the young warlord mused. His hand fell to his sword for reassurance. _'Now for the best part.' _Dilandau sauntered through the gates and into the courtyard. He saw what he assumed a young servant girl wandering along and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hello." he said, in his usual sly tone. "I was wondering if you could help me out."

"I suppose... what do you need help with?"

"I'm looking for King Van Fanel. He's expecting me."

"Oh! You're Sir Gilbert? That local noble who needed to speak to him about urgent matters?"

Dilandau frowned. "How is it a servant girl knows so much about the goings on in the castle?"

She stiffened. "I am the Regent of Fanelia, trusted advisor to King Van."

"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry." He tried to cover up the contempt in his voice, and failed.

She eyed him suspiciously. "I'll inform him of your arrival, Sir Gilbert." She walked off down the hall as a brisk pace.

Dilandau watched her go in slight amusement. _'Too bad I'm short on time.' _The Lord attempted to turn his thoughts from the imminent kill. He forced himself to think about what Strategos had told him earlier.

_"Dilandau?"_

_"What is it now Strategos?"_

_"I think it's about time I told you some things I've been keeping from you and some that I've just recently discovered."_

_"And those would be?" asked the warlord with a genuinely curious look on his face._

_"You really have to be careful around Van."_

_Dilandau scoffed. "Why? He's no match for me. Even less of a match because of my foolproof plan."_

_"Yes, but this is something you can't guard against. I have learned that the King has recently begun to use the powers of Fate to his advantage."_

_"How is this possible?"_

_"He's a Draconian. He can control things discreetly. He hasn't even noticed he can do it yet. If he makes a subconscious wish, it will come true."_

_"Hmm. That will make things more difficult, perhaps."_

_"But that's not the most important thing."_

_"Then tell me." snapped the lord, "I'm running short on time."_

_"I've located a power. It's getting closer to Fanelia, and Van. This power is identical in nature to that of Hitomi, the girl from the Mystic Moon."_

_"What?! How is this possible? Is she back?"_

_"No, she's not. The power I've detected is, as I said, identical in nature, but definitely not the same." Folken raised an eyebrow. "The girl is travelling with a boy that possesses an interesting power as well. I want you to capture either of those two or both if possible. The scouts have reported back to me about those travelling with them that have no power for me to detect them by. One is a simple bodyguard. You should have no difficulties dispatching of him. The other may pose a slight problem, I believe you've met him before, Allen Schezar?"_

_"What?!" he cried again, "You're asking me to go after some stupid girl? I have my own priorities set you know." raged the warlord in a matter-of-fact tone._

_"Don't worry. I've been studying this girl for some time. She's the same one you're after, which means that you absolutely cannot kill her. I need to study her first, and see if I can use her powers to our advantage." _

_Dilandau began to pout. "That's not fair Strategos, not fair at all. I claimed her the first time I saw her." _

_"And you can have her after I'm done." _

_Dilandau's eyes gleamed viciously. "I would like that very much. Now what else did you have to tell me?"_

_"This could take a while to explain. It's about your origins. I've figured out the process used by the sorcerers. You see, you were never Celena to begin with, you were just using her body as a place for your soul to live..." _

Dilandau's thoughts flicked back to the present as he paced excitedly. _'I'm almost there. I can wait a little longer. I'm almost there. I can wait just a little longer', _played like a mantra in his mind.He stopped for a moment, the situation actually becoming apparent to him. _'Van Fanel is mine. He's finally going to be mine.' _

The Regent broke him from his reverie."Sir?"

Dilandau did his best to choke down the laughter he'd been wanting to release ever since he arrived at the castle.

"Yes?"

"The king will see you now. Please follow me." She led him up several flights of stairs, and down a hallway.

"Because of the hour of your calling, the king was already asleep. He is awake now, and will see you in his chambers." The Regent knocked on the door. "Lord?"

"Bring him in." spoke a voice from the room. Just hearing that voice sent shivers down the warlord's spine. _'I'm almost there. Just a little longer.'_ The Regent opened the door and was about to go inside. Dilandau gripped her wrist.

"I'd like this to be a private meeting."

"I must attend any and all meetings."

"Not anymore." he whispered, his voice full of malice. A look of confusion crossed the woman's face, then fear, as the young General took out his dagger. He slit her throat quickly, before she could scream, then entered the room. Van was examining a painting, his hands behind his back.

"So, what is this matter of utmost urgency Sir Gilbert?"

Dilandau could barely hold back his laughter at this point. "Well, dearest Van, I just _had_ to see you again."

Van swung around, recognizing the voice instantly. "You!!" he cried in alarm. "I thought we got rid of you!!"

Dilandau smiled mock-innocently. "Guess not." he replied in a tone to match. "Now I'm going to pay you back." He pushed the hair away from the right side of his face, so a long thin scar was plainly visible. "Remember this Van?" he drew the name out deliberately and spoke it mockingly. "Yes, of course you do. Remember my promise Van? Well, I'm here tonight, and I'm going to fulfill it." He tried to smother a laugh, but couldn't. The laughter that had been threatening all night finally escaped, and echoed eerily off of the stone walls of the room.

Van reached for his sword, but it was in vain, for he was not even wearing it. He quickly sized up his options, and spotted the open balcony. If he wanted to get out, he'd have to run past Dilandau first. He clenched his fists as a pair of angelic white wings burst from his back. Dilandau tilted his head to the side and stared intently at the wings for a moment. The satanic smile returned to his face as he drew his sword.

'_This is going to be very interesting... very interesting indeed...'_

Van ran for the balcony, but not before Dilandau managed to get in several slices at his wings, striking bone, and then tendon, making them fall, bloody appendages, and completely useless, to his side. Van stopped before he reached the balcony, knowing there was no way he would survive if he jumped. But then, what choice did he have? Die there, die here, the final outcome was still the same. At very least he could deny Dilandau any actual credit of his death. He ran again for the balcony, ignoring the blinding pain that distorted his vision. Dilandau saw what was about to happen. He simply extended a foot in front of Van, causing him to trip.

"Oh. How very sad." said the warlord in mock concern. "Angels with broken wings can't fly, Van, and what a pathetic angel you make all the same." Van tried to get up, but Dilandau sent his sword through the wing nearest him, pinning Van there. The young King cried out in pain, tears now rolling down his cheeks.

"I'm so, so sorry Hitomi." he whispered clutching at the pendant he wore.

Dilandau leaned closed so as to more fully enjoy Van's suffering. "Isn't that adorable. You want your whore from the Mystic Moon. How quaint."

Van's tear-stained face looked onto Dilandau's mocking one. He fought to speak despite the pain. She's- she's no whore Dilandau."

"Then did I pay her for no reason?"

Fury clouded the King's face. "You're lying!! She'd never have the likes of you touch her. Besides, I know she prefers the company of men, not other women."

The warlord's eyes opened wide. He twisted the sword in Van's wing, causing the young King to scream yet again. The silver haired boy trembled with rage. "I was just going to finish you off Van, but now, I'm going to make you suffer longer. Besides, that- that- _abnormality_ has been dealt with!"

Van gritted his teeth. "Really? I don't see a difference."

Dilandau kicked Van hard in the ribs. A small trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

'_I wish he could just be distracted while I think up a plan...'_

The silver haired general thought of tasting the young King, licking the blood from his face, but he held back. _'I don't want to offer possible proof to his accusations... right away that is.._.' Instead he leaned over and plucked a single feather from one of Van's wings, its dazzling whiteness marred by the scarlet blood that had begun to dry upon it.

"So, so beautiful." he murmured to himself. Van watched Dilandau with disgust held off only slightly by the pain that was slowly causing him to drift towards unconsciousness. _'Is he admiring the feather, the blood or...' _Van shuddered. _'Or me...' _

Dilandau removed his gloves and slowly wiped the blood from Van's face with his thumb. Van flinched, and tried to shove him away, but even the slightest movement caused the greatest of pain, and so he lowered his hand. Dilandau sucked the blood from his finger, enjoying it thoroughly.

"Are you about done?" asked Van arrogantly, for he had not been struck for some time. Dilandau kicked him forcefully in the side a half a dozen times. "How's that for an answer?"

The young King groaned and held his side. He just wanted to lie down, and sleep, but the sword impaling his wing prevented any change in position, lest it be ripped in half. _'This is like a game of chess,'_ thought Van, _'one wrong move and it's over.'_

There were no sounds, except the wind in the trees outside, and Van's laboured breathing. "I could call for help." he rasped.

"Yes, I know, I was expecting you would. I'd kill you, and I have a flawless escape plan." Dilandau bluffed. He really had expected to have killed Van by now, but something was holding him back. _'That stupid wish power? No. I don't think so. I'd have noticed something...'_

"The soldiers would kill you." said Van boldly.

"No, they wouldn't." replied Dilandau in a nonchalant tone.

More silence.

Van spotted a dagger at the warlord's waist. _'If only he could get close enough to me and distracted_ _enough not to notice, I could get this sword out of my wing and that dagger across his throat... As impossible as that seems, I wish it could happen.'_

Dilandau stared at Van, contemplating. Finally couldn't take it anymore. _'Like I said to Folken, I'm not Celena, but I apparently have maintained several of her likes and dislikes...' _Dilandau crouched and tilted Van's chin upwards so that he faced him, then he kissed him deeply. The taste of his mortal enemy mixed with the metallic tang of blood was just too much, and momentary euphoria stole over him. Van used this second to slip Dilandau's dagger from his belt, wrench the blade free from his wing and hold it to the warlord's neck.

'_Just my luck. Stalemate.'_

Van tried to stand up, or to swing the blade at his enemy, but the intense pain of his broken wings took him over. He barely managed to throw the sword and dagger over the balcony so that they couldn't be used against him again before collapsing to the floor.

"GUARDS!" he called at the top of his lungs.

Dilandau's eyes widened in recognition of a feeling that seemed to be fast becoming his new friend: defeat. He heard the guard's footsteps coming up the stairs.

"I swear Van Fanel, I will get you. Your death will be more painful then you could ever imagine." He started away, but turned as he reached the door. "Remember Van, angels with broken wings can't fly, and you can _never_ get away from me."

Dilandau ran into the hall and down the opposing stairway and back through the courtyard and over the wall, where Miguel had just arrived, guarding fifteen Fanelia shields proudly; the shields originally belonging to the perimeter guard of the castle. The two Dragon Slayers mounted their horses and rode for the outskirts of the city.

End Part Five

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Yup.

That's all for now.

Part 6 is already on the way. It's about half done.

Oooo! Just as a little incentive, Taiahna surrenders herself to Everybody's Favourite Pyro next chapter. Big huge secret 'bout Charles happening maybe. For sure more insight into Taiahna's past. Yes, she IS Allen's sister. But NO, she's not Dilandau's.

Confused?

Good.

You should be. Explanations coming soon.

Thanks again to all the people who've reviewed this so far. You know who you are!

To Skullycat: Hide and go seek is sooooo happening next chapter!! Dilandau is tracking Taiahna through the woods... BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh yeah, thanks again for sticking me in Give A DragonSlayer A Rose. I was so touched And Dilandau was joking about hide and go seek. Whoa I hope you do another 'interactive' thing like that. I would so totally love to be in it if you did. Okay. This is long. I'm just gonna e-mail you or something 'cause this is pretty stupid.

Thankies a Million cough adoring cough cough readers.

New A/N: I'm on a freaking roll people. I might get another chapter done today even. Also, yes, I now know that Hitomi's grandmother's hair is not red. I'd seen the whole series when I wrote this... I just, for some reason, had it stuck in my head that her hair was dark red, and Taiahna's red hair is too important to change now so... yeah. We will pretend her hair was red.

Planeswalker


	6. One Sided Romance

Revised.

Old A/N: Helloooooooooooo people!

It's part 6. Right here. That's right.

Hmmm... Any warnings to be issued?

Well, none other then: THIS CONTAINS DILANDAU-SAMA! A VERY (sexy) DISTURBED INDIVIDUAL!!

Disclaimer: Midori's mine in all his pathetic 'glory-ness', Taiahna's mine in all her Dilandau-stealing-ness, (Grrr), and Charles is mine in all his... if dunno... annoyingness. I don't own anybody else really important sniff. All those dudes in Japan own the other characters. sigh Even, sobs my Dil-sama. weeps Excuse me. sniff

O0O0O0O

"I might be… your sister? But how can this be Allen?"

"Well, only a half sister."

"But still! How is this possible?"

Allen sighed. He knew he shouldn't have said anything. He was probably going to end up horribly embarrassed and Midori would call this an excuse to stall for time. "I once knew a young girl. She'd be about your age by now. She came from the Mystic Moon." Taiahna gasped.

"The Mystic Moon?"

"Yes. Her name was Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Well I'm sure there are many other Kanzaki's on Gaia-"

"Actually, there aren't. The name is very foreign. Only two people have ever been on Gaia with that name. Hitomi, and her grandmother."

"So then how is it that I'm related to you?"

"My Father knew Hitomi's grandmother. He was in love with her. If your name is Kanzaki, it wouldn't surprise me at all that you're their daughter."

"This is very... odd." she replied hesitantly, remembering the dream she'd had just the night before. _'That's where I know those eyes! They're the same as that man's, Leon I think his name was? Hmm...'_

"Well, who raised you? You could ask them about it."

Taiahna's expression went sour. "They were killed when the Zaibach army attacked and destroyed the village we lived in." A look of surprise crossed his face.

"You actually escaped from the Zaibach army? How on Gaia did you manage that?" The redhead smiled bitterly.

"I've actually escaped from Zaibach four times. The first time, when I was a child..."

_A little girl opened the front door to a modest cottage and skipped outside._

_"Taiahna..." _

_The little girl spun around to see a woman with long straight hair the same colour as her own. "Who are you?" asked the little girl curiously. _

_The woman smiled. "Taiahna, I need you to come with me. Right now."_

_"But, what about Grandma and Grandpa? Won't they be worried?"_

_"It's alright dear, they know me." The woman walked over to the little girl and took her hand._

_"Brr! Your hands are cold!" As they starte walking, Taiahna examined the woman's hands a little more closely, only to discover that they are translucent. "Are you a ghost?"_

_"Yes and no. There's no time Taiahna. I have to take you somewhere safe now."_

_"What about Grandma and Grandpa? Will they be okay?" _

_The woman's smile faltered somewhat. "I'm sorry dear. They aren't going to make it. But they wanted me to make you promise you wouldn't go back for them. They want you to be safe more then anything." _

_The little girl's face fell into a pout. "They were going to tell me about my Mommy and Daddy soon. Where they are, stuff like that." _

_The woman's voice lowered to a hushed whisper. "If I tell you a secret, can you keep it?"_

_"Oh yes! I promise!" she cried excitedly, "I'm very good at keeping secrets you know."_

_"Well dear, I'm your mother." The little girl looked up into the woman's eyes and realizes how much they look alike._

_"You're my Mommy? Am I going to go live with you and Daddy?" A single tear fell from the woman's eye._

_"No dear. Your Daddy died a long time ago. And you can't live with me because I can't stay here." She pointed to the Mystic Moon hanging low in the evening sky. "That's where I live. I wish you could come with me, but you can't go there, and I can't stay here." _

_"Oh. I see." said the young Taiahna a little sadly. _

_The two continued walking until they reached an alleyway. The woman opened a door in the wall and brought Taiahna inside._

_"It's going to get very loud soon. There will be lots of scary sounds out there, but I know you can be brave for me and your Grandparents. Don't worry though. No one can come into this little room. The door is locked with special magic so only you can open it. When there's no more noise I want you to go down to the big city gates and wait. I'll be there." The girl smiled._

_"Okay Mommy. I'll wait for you there." _

_Tears began to stream down the woman's face as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "I love you so much dear. Always remember that." The woman turned, and as she walked towards the door, she flickered once, and then completely disappeared._

"...and that's pretty much how it happened. I left the room during a lull in the battle thinking it was over. I managed to hide here and there until it was all over, but unfortunately witnessed the death of my foster parents. I think when I left the room early I must have severed the link between my mother and I, because when I went to the gate, no one was there." She paused for a moment, remembering, and then went on: "The second time, I just got lucky. Lord Dilandau-" She had to stop for a moment to force back the unpleasant memories. Allen blanched at the mention of the name, but didn't want to interrupt her. "He tried to rape me. You could say I hit him in a very uncomfortablespot and I took off. The third time, I was warned with a- and don't you dare laugh!- I was warned by a vision. Same with the fourth."

Allen was so amazed at this point he just had to sit down. "Then there's no doubt. If you're having visions and your mother looks like that woman you described, you definitely are my sister." He stood up and hugged her tightly. "Welcome to the family." He held her at arm's length and frowned. "You're going to want to know about your other siblings."

Taiahna's face brightened. "I've always wanted a brother or sister, and now I get more than one! This is wonderful."

"You have a sister. Her name is Celena. She was captured by Zaibach when she was young though. They turned her intothis horrible monstrosity. We returned her to normal, but, are you sure it was Lord Dilandau Albatou?"

"Absolutely."

"Well... Celena disappeared again last year." Taiahna didn't quite see Allen's point, and told him so.

"Celena is Dilandau."

Taiahna's eyes grew very wide and a horrible feeling developed in the pit of her stomach. "So you're trying to tell me I was almost raped by my sister!?"

Allan chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't have put it exactly that way... but, I suppose you could say so, yes."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Now that just isn't right!" Taiahna began jabbering incomprehensibly and wiping her arms furiously, trying literally to brush away the repulsed feeling. '_For a while I even, almost, wanted to be with him? Or should I say her? My sister?! Ugh!!'_

Taiahna went on babbling incoherently for a while longer. Midori, who had stood through this whole thing absolutely frozen with a look of absolute shock on his face, sat down very slowly and tried to force a thought of any sort to come into his mind. _'That's... rather... different...' _A slow discreet smile crept over his attractive features. _'Taiahna's available...' _

Taiahna turned and saw the look of joy on Midori's face. _'Oh great. He really likes me doesn't he?' _Taiahna smiled sadly. _'That's just too bad, he's a nice guy, but I really don't like him.' _Taiahna took a closer look at the man. His silky black hair and soft eyes fit perfectly with the rest of his distinguished, yet roguish features. _'Really not too bad looking. Just, I guess I still kind of have feelings for- NO! Not my SISTER!?' _Taiahna shuddered involuntarily. _'NOT RIGHT!'_

"I also have a sneaking suspicion about that boy. Charles was it?" At that very moment, Charles, who had been secretly listening, came rushing around the side of the inn. He immediately exploded with a barrage of questions.

"What about me? Taiahna, did you really almost sleep with your sister? Wouldn't that mean you almost slept with two of your sisters, because if Allen had won the duel... well... you know? Midori, can't you see that Taiahna doesn't like you?"

Midori blushed and mumbled something while stumbling around the corner of the building. Charles laughed. "I can't believe he hasn't even noticed yet!"

Allen glared at the boy. "That was such a cruel thing to do Charles, shattering his hopes, no matter how unrealistic they were." Allen flipped his hair over his shoulder pompously. "Of course, that's never happened to me." His face fell. "Well, only once." Allen cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Well then... if Dilandau really is back, and he's after you, then I suppose I'll just have to escort you, my sister, to Fanelia myself. I'm headed there anyway."

Taiahna gave Allen an affectionate hug.

"Thanks, brother." She smiled up at him.

"Well then, let's pack our bags. We'll be on our way bright and early."

O0O0O0O

Meanwhile, Dilandau, Miguel, and Chesta were camped at the outskirts of Fanelia. Dilandau was sitting by himself rifling through a stack of maps and cursing under his breath. He was still quite upset at his failure at the castle. _'Creator damnit! Folken even warned me about that stupid wish power. I didn't know until it was too late and my mind even made excuses for me.' _He shuddered in disgust. _'Now I truly hate Van! I can't believe I could feel that way about a man. What if my Dragon Slayers were to find out and take it the wrong way? I'm the general of an army, not some emotional faggot.'_

The second reason for his ire was that the early autumn wind was fairly chilly, blowing his maps about and numbing his fingers, making it even hard for him to hold on to them.

"Go get some firewood, Miguel." commanded Dilandau.

"But Dilandau-" The 'Slayer had a bright red mark on his left cheek before he could finish his sentence.

"Silence! You will address me as Lord Dilandau. I don't care if you lent me your sister for one afternoon!" he growled, "All you ended up doing is making Strategos Folken think that I was in bed with _you_! Now get out of my sight." Miguel muttered under his breath while stumbling off into the woods. Dilandau picked up the detailed map of Fanelia and its surrounding land he'd thrown down in his anger at Miguel.

'_Now where was that spot... ah! There it is.' _The lord was contemplating a small hollow just off the road to Fanelia for his ambush spot. _'Just perfect. Although I'll have to find some way to force them off the road...' _A million different plans raced through Dilandau's mind. It was like he'd been doing his job as a general for a lifetime before this one. _'Well, I have really when you think about it...' _He smiled. _'Yes, this hollow will do nicely.'_

"Lord General Dilandau?" asked Shesta, addressing him by his full title. He didn't want to take the chance of being the second to provoke his lord's wrath in one evening.

"Is there any way I can assist you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is." Dilandau then revealed his plan to Chesta in detail.

"Isn't that a bit cruel?" he winced, hoping he wouldn't be struck.

The general just laughed. "How are we supposed to define the word 'cruel'? We've spent two lifetimes killing people."

"I suppose... I still feel kind of bad, though."

"Then you have quite a bit to learn, and quite a bit more humanity to rid yourself of."

Chesta frowned, puzzled, then saluted."Yes Sir. I'll go help Miguel find some firewood."

The warlord stopped him. "No, don't. That boy has a lesson to learn."

"What's that?"

"To never, ever disrespect me." the warlord paused, thoughtful, "Actually, go ahead. We'll need some extra. I think we'll be lighting more then one fire tonight."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna and crew had been travelling tirelessly for several days now without many notable events. Charles complained and made jabs at Allen, Midori moped in the back and the King of Asturia, Dryden, was hardly silent for a single moment. The man had an opinion on everything; especially anything to do with commerce, and being the merchant's son of a merchant's son he was quite knowledgeable in the area as well. Allen had good intentions, but his constant blathering about 'honour' this and 'justice' that was getting tiring.

Gaea's two moons hung low in the sky and the stars were just beginning to show as the group unpacking their things and set up their bedrolls. Midori, making sure no one else was watching, pulled Taiahna aside. They walked fairly deep into the woods and stopped by a large pine.

"Taiahna... I just wanted to know... about... me and you. Is there a chance?""I'm sorry Midori, no. You're a great guy but, well-"

"It can't be Dilandau, can it?? You would actually take your own sister over me??"

Taiahna blushed. "Maybe before I knew that he, er, she, um... you know what I mean!! Before I knew... it was my sister."

'_There, that wasn't so hard to finally admit, was it?'_

Midori lowered his eyes to the ground and mumbled something.

"Pardon?" asked Taiana.

"I said, then why aren't you over, him, if you know that he's your sister?"

Taiahna blanched. _'Oh Creator! Is it true? Why don't I start something with Midori even after I've discovered the object of my affection was originally my sister? No, no, no! Like I said before, he's just not my type, that's ALL!'_ Taiahna looked up into Midori's forlorn green eyes, slightly curtained by the wisps of silky black hair that framed his handsome face and fell to his strong jaw line.

'_Ok... That is the WORST logic I've ever formulated. I mean... look at the guy!! He's a good fighter, he's honest, he's kind, he's loyal, he's handsome... Those traits aren't usually found together. But then, why...? Hmm. Maybe I just need something to distract me, to take my thoughts off of what can't be...'_

"Well," she said coyly, "maybe not a complete no."

Midori's eyes lit up like a child in a candy shop.

"I mean," she went on, "wouldn't you be a little upset and off kilter if you had just discovered that, yes I admit, a previous affection, was originally the opposite gender, AND related to you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

They both laughed.

"What I'm trying to say is," she paused and bit her lip, "I like you too, I guess, and I apologize for acting like an idiot and just blurting out the first thing that came into my mind. I was pretty upset about the whole sister rape thing-"

That was enough for Midori. He put his hands on Taiahna's shoulders and pulled her closer to him into a eager kiss. This time, Taiahna returned it. Her heart raced furiously as they parted momentarily for air and she glanced back to the fire to see that they were far enough away and shadowed so that the others could not see them. Midori kissed Taiahna again, but more roughly. She wasn't worried though, she knew she could trust him.

'_It's so nice to not have to worry that he won't make me go anywhere I don't want to go... Unlike some evil warlords... no matter _how_ gorgeous they are...' _She broke the kiss and looked into Midori's green eyes, which were a happy green so vibrant she could even distinguish their shade in the shadows of the trees. _'And besides, this can be only a one time thing. I know he wants it to really be something but, he'll just have to wait for devotion.'_ She pulled off his cloak and ran her hands over his chest, still covered by his tunic. She felt his breathing and pulse quicken beneath her hands.

"I- I want you so much Taiahna... you don't even know how much I-"

Taiahna put a finger to his lips and looked up into his eyes. "Shhh. Call me Tai." She whispered in a seductive tone as she kissed the tip of her finger and pressed it to Midori's lips. She sat down in the pine needles of an old tree and tugged gently on Midori's pants leg, motioning for him to join her. He sat down beside her and she ran her fingers through his soft black hair while kissing him lustfully. He pulled off her heavy sweater, leaving her in her thin under tunic as she climbed onto his lap, straddling him. He kissed the hollow of her neck tenderly eliciting from her rapturous moans. She helped him out of his under tunic and kissed his chest, running her tongue around one of his nipples. Her eyes opened wide and she blushed furiously as she felt him harden beneath her. She had finally realized the extent of what was going to happen. Midori saw it in her eyes and comforted her.

"Don't worry," he said in a breathy voice, "this isn't the first time I've done this."

Taiahna's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "I am a bit older then you." he went on, explaining. "I'm twenty-six, you know."

Taiahna's eyes opened wider.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I- I just thought you were a bit closer to my age... that's all..."

"How old are you?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"Svntmph..."

"Pardon?"

"Seventeen..."

"Oh... I just though you were a bit closer to _my_ age... But that doesn't matter right? As long as we love each other."

Taiahna took a deep breath. "I.. um... I don't really-"

She was interrupted by a loud cracking in the bush behind Midori. She looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but blackness. There was another large crack and a shadow went hurtling towards her.

"Aaaa!" she screamed, hiding her face in Midori's chest, thinking it had to be Dilandau. She heard a familiar voice groan.

"Oh Taiahna, I'm sorry I was looking for you when I tripped over this..." The blonde haired knight of Asturia trailed off when he fully perceived the situation. He frowned deeply, trying to cover up his embarrassment. "I'll be going back to the camp now." He took off towards the fire.

"What were you saying Tai?"

Taiahna was already standing up and throwing her sweater back on. "He'll be telling the others. We'd better get back there." She took off towards the light of the fire, and then stopped. There were two campfires. One to the left and one to the right. _'Which way did I come from?' _She looked off the left._ 'Well, that's the way Allen went, so I guess I'll go that way too. But it seems like I came from the other way... no... It's late, I'm tired and stressed, some travellers must have made their fire closer to the trail than us.'_ She took off deeper into the woods, the way Allen had gone.

Suddenly the fire went out.

'_Oh no.' _She swung around to the other fire. Maybe she could borrow a lantern from the other travellers to get back to her camp. The other fire went out as well. _'Just my luck.' _Taiahna dismissed it as bad luck and did her best to walk in the general direction of where she'd seen the fire. _'Something doesn't feel right.' _Taiahna stopped walking suddenly, but the sound of her footfalls didn't stop. There was someone following her. She knelt down quickly and pretended to retie her boot. _'The one thing that boy Charles was useful for. He taught me how to find out if someone is following me.' _She relaxed momentarily. _'Why am I so nervous? It's probably just Midori.' _

"Midori? Are you around?" There was no answer, just footfalls coming closer to her. "Look, I'm sorry about cutting our 'romance' short, but I don't want Allen telling the others all these things that aren't true. He gets carried away." Still no answer. "Midori?" She heard the soft click of light armour just to the side of her. Taiahna swallowed as a pair of hands grasped her shoulders with a creak of leather gloves. A voice she knew very well whispered in her ear;

"Where's Midori now, Taiahna? You're not getting away this time."

Taiahna broke free of the hands and stumbled back to see exactly who she feared.

His silver hair was highlighted by the beams of the crescent moon.

His garnet eyes gleamed with insanity.

It was Dilandau Albatou.

End Part Six

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Can you say cliffhanger?

Sorry peeps. This chapter ran a tad longer then I wanted it too, so next chapter will be packed with excitement! Yay!!

Chibi-Stacey in the distance: Sam... that was... different...

Next part is called Terms Of Surrender, in which Dilandau really does get Taiahna. I'm serious! For REAL!! If you don't read it, you'll miss the hunt of a lifetime...

evil laughter

Keep it down Dil!! sweatdrops He's very excited about it.

See y'all soon!

And thanks a million for all the reviews people. sheds a tear I feel sooooo loved.

Ja ne

New A/N: I in no way share my characters' freaked out feelings about homosexuality. In fact, I'm all for it :)

Planeswalker aka Pyro Samantha Albatou-Densetsu (all one name )


	7. Terms Of Surrender

Revisey-oed.

Old A/N: Heh heh heh. This is THE chapter. Anyhoo, on with the show!!

O0O0O0O

Taiahna turned and ran for her life. She couldn't remember ever having run so quickly. With terrified tears running down her cheeks, she wasn't sure she would see the sunrise. One thought was running through her mind in an endless stream: _'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die.' _

As the initial shock of the encounter began to wear off a small bit, the thought became: _'Gotta save the others, gotta save the others, gotta save the others.'_

Dilandau simply followed her at a walking pace. He knew the area inside out and his trap was well set; and there was no possible way for her to escape.

Taiahna's original burst of adrenalin was wearing off and she knew she couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. She glanced behind her, but kept running to be safe. _'Where is he?' _Even if Dilandau had been ten feet away from her, the chances of her seeing him were fairly slim. The sun had set over an hour ago, and what feeble light the moons provided did little more then throw more shadows to confuse. Taiahna stopped and strained her ears. She could hear nothing but her own laboured breathing.

Then something caught her around the waist.

She screamed and cursed at the top of her lungs, beating at the strong arms that surrounded her. The arms withdrew and she started running again, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Ow! Tai! What was that for?!"

Taiahna swung around, gripped Midori's wrists and looked into his confused green eyes.

"Midori, listen to me! There's something very wrong! The fires went out, and I've already seen Lord Dilandau in the woods!"

Midori laughed. "I know you're trying to avoid me Tai. If you're not ready, just tell me so. I can wait." Midori pulled Taiahna closer to whisper temptingly into her ear. "Although I can't say I'll enjoy the wait, I know it's worth it."

Taiahna pulled away from the imminent kiss. And looked him in the eyes again, now beginning to grow angry. "I'm serious Midori. I saw Dilandau in the woods. He almost had me. He was following me, but I took off as fast as I could. He's somewhere out there. We have to get to the others!"

Midori laughed like one humouring a small child. "Now you're too proud to admit something." He pulled her into a kiss. She wished she could just forget herself in his embrace, but knew that they had to get away. She broke the kiss.

"Come on Midori. We have to get to the others and warn them." Midori looked faintly disappointed as she began dragging him off with a death-grip on his left hand.

"No kiss for your love?"

"I don't love you Midori. That's what I was going to tell you earlier." replied Taiahna without looking back. She didn't want to see the look in his eyes. Taiahna heard the sound of a sword coming out of its scabbard as she turned to face Midori. She screamed as she saw and heard the sickening sound of Dilandau's sword piercing his flesh and tearing a great rent in his side. Her free hand covered her nose and mouth as she watched his guts spill from his side.

"I- I loved you." he managed to gasp before closing his eyes.

Midori's hand slipped from Taiahna's and fell limply over his body.

She could barely breathe.

'_How could I say that? The last words he heard before he died was me telling him his love had been a lie.' _Tears began to run down Taiahna's cheeks. Dilandau watched the scene with a look of slight amusement on his face. He nodded his head as if in satisfaction and then began to clap his hands.

"Congratulations. I honestly could never have caused that poor bastard more pain then that."

"How could you?!" she shrieked.

"How could I what? Kill him? I put him out of his misery. You should be thanking me." he smiled mockingly. "Now come on with me. This game is getting boring." He stifled what was obviously a very fake yawn. "If you continue to run in a straight line, I'll be able to find you easily."

"Do you want me?" she asked in a proud, but shaky voice.

"No, I'm just out here in the middle of the woods killing your friends for fun." he proclaimed sarcastically, pausing momentarily. "Well, I actually kind of am." he released a clipped bit of raucous laughter, "But that's not the point." His face expression grew serious. "My answer is _yes_. Of course. I want my revenge."

"Well then you'll have to catch me." Taiahna turned and ran off into the dark trees, tears still streaming down her face.

Dilandau sighed, exasperated, and walked over to Midori's body. He kicked him in the good side.

"What do you think of that Midori?"

Midori groaned and opened his eyes. He winced at the incredible pain and then looked up at Dilandau. The events of a few seconds ago all came rushing back, striking him like ice-water. Bitter tears leaked from his eyes. He looked to the side, realizing the extent of his wound.

"How could she?" he choked out.

Dilandau sighed mock sympathetically. "I know. They're all bitches aren't they?" He then smiled maliciously at the wounded man. "And I'm going to have yours."

"D-Don't hurt her."

"Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her?!" Dilandau laughed. It echoed through the black of the night. "That girl has just broken your heart, and taken your life and tet, you ask me not to hurt her?!"

"She's q-quite a rare person. I forgive her." he barely managed to get the words out. "I kn-knew she didn't l-love me. I just d-didn't want to believe it." he winced in pain. "She w-was lusting after some- someone else."

Dilandau looked at the dying man curiously. He smiled devilishly.

"Tell me who this man is so that I may grant him a horrible death."

Midori managed something much like strangled laughter. "Th-then you had b-better run yourself through-" he broke off to draw in a rattled breath.

"Why?"

"It's you." A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Midori's mouth, and then he closed his eyes for the last time.

Dilandau stood stroking his scar affectionately, pondering this new development. His smile was full of venom.

"Well. That puts a whole new spin on this game, doesn't it?" he then began to walk slowly into the open black maw of the trees.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna's lungs burned from overexertion, and her legs felt like they were going to collapse beneath her, but she knew she had to keep running if she wanted to save her own life, and the lives of her friends. One had been lost already, and in her mind, one was already too much.

'

_Oh come on. You know you want to go back there and throw yourself into the big strong arms of Lord Dilandau. You know you want to be at his mercy. You know want what he's going to do to you...' _

"No." she gasped stumbling over a tree root, but managing to keep herself upright.

'_You want him to take you. You wanted him back at the tent...'_

"NO!" she cried, her tears blinding her vision. "That isn't right!" She tripped over another tree root, but this time went down hard onto her face, scraping her elbows and ripping the knees of her pants. She grabbed handfuls of dirt and pine needles, squeezing them tightly in an attempt to block out the anguish that she was suffering, both emotionally and physically. She threw the dirt but the light breeze that was picking up just threw it back into her face. She pounded her fists on the ground in frustration.

'

_You want him...' _

The voices halted momentarily, and Taiahna pulled herself into a sitting position. She was still crying quietly as she stood up shakily, thinking the voices were gone at last. But she was to have no such luck.

'

_Don't forget your friends. Go back. You'll be safe.'_

"No..." she sobbed, her protests getting weaker. "Just leave me alone..."

'_Go back. You'll be safe.' _These voices were a bit quieter then the first ones. More gentle and kind, but just as insistent.

'

_You'll be safe...' _She was about to go back the way she came, and attempt to skirt around Dilandau's path, but then a voice rang through the quiet of the woods that made her change her mind completely.

"TAIAHNA!!"

The redhead took off instantaneously towards the sound of the voice of young Charles. "TAIAHNA!! HELP ME!!"

She ran faster, dodging trees as she went. Her own confident voice returned to her as before: _'Gotta save the others.'_

She ran without thinking of herself, just her companions. _'I couldn't save Midori, but maybe... just maybe...' _Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment as well as the effort from running when she remembered how she had almost abandoned them completely moments before.

She burst into a clearing where she saw a boy she recognized as one of the Dragon Slayers with a dagger to the young boy's throat. _'I know that boy... The boy who led me to the tent... the boy in the market who dropped the key...' _

_"I'm very sorry Milady..."_

The young 'Slayer spoke the words that mirrored her memories.

"I'm very sorry Milady."

"Will you just STOP SAYING THAT?!" she screeched. "You're obviously NOT sorry if you keep SCREWING ME OVER AGAIN AND AGAIN!!" Taiahna was on the verge of losing it completely.

"Taiahna? Are you going to save me?" asked Charles in a small voice, his eyes full of tears. Taiahna must have been a sight herself. Her navy pants were ripped at the knees and covered in dirt and her own blood. He face was equally dirty, excepting the tracks where her angry, frightened tears had travelled down her cheeks, scraped from her fall. Her shirt was full off the acidic soil of the forest soil and her hair was in total disarray, pine needles clinging to it here and there.

"Listen Milady: you move from that spot, and the boy dies."

Taiahna heard a frustrated mumbling from not too far away and she turned her head to see Allen hogtied and gagged. He was obviously not going anywhere anytime soon. He was yelling Creator knows what through his gag, but whatever it was, was probably equal or worse than the angry scowl on his face that could be seen through his long honey-blonde hair. Not too far from him was Dryden, who was gagged as well and bound to a tree. Allen was trying to wrest himself from his bonds, and he seemed to be succeeding when another 'Slayer in blue uniform came from the shadows and sat on his back. He began tightening the Asturian knight's bonds. The second 'Slayer's steely-grey eyes met her own of burnt umber clouded by fury and confusion.

'_I have just walked into a very elaborately planned trap.' _

Taiahna swore silently under her breath, realizing that there was indeed no way out of this situation. _'I can make a run for it, but they'll kill Charles, and even if I get far enough from these guys, Dilandau is too close behind me... Even if I escape Dilandau, I'd never be able to live with myself for abandoning my friends.'_

"I see you've found our little party, girl." Taiahna swung around to see Dilandau in all his arrogant glory.

'_I've finally caught her.'_

His expression of conceited pride was visible in the half-light that illuminated his fiery garnet eyes as well as the matching jewel in his gilt diadem. He walked slowly up to Taiahna and exhaled next to her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.

"I have a proposition for you girl. I'm willing to let, hmmm..." he paused, as though thinking hard about something. "three of you go free."

"What? That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war." Dilandau quoted in a harsh whisper. "You'd better accept this deal girl, it's the best you're going to get."

Allen cried out furiously, but because of the gag, he was indefinitely incomprehensible.

"NOMIFRFF!!"

Miguel cuffed Allen over the back of the head, but Allen continued, not dissuaded.

"BRBRRD!!"

Dilandau massaged his temples.

"Would you just un-gag the stupid fool so we can hear him? Maybe then he'll stop yelling."

"Yes, General." Miguel hastily removed the gag from the mouth of the Asturian knight.

"Taiahna!! Let them take me! I'd gladly stay in your place! You just have to get King Dryden to Fanelia and Charles too! You don't even have to look back..."

"No Allen."

Dilandau looked at Taiahna, feigning surprise. He knew how this would all play out. He had given her nothing more than the illusion of choice.

"I'm sorry Allen, but you're my brother. I won't let anything happen to you. _You_ have to get King Dryden and Charles to Fanelia. I'll not sit by as these monsters take another of the people I love. I'll-"

"No!" interrupted Allen, "I've already lost one sister to that." he gestured with his head in Dilandau's direction, who merely laughed. "Please Taiahna... you have to get to safety. I'm your big brother. I have to look out for you. I won't fail again... I'm staying."

Taiahna saw what was happening. Allen obviously blamed himself for Celena's kidnapping.

"No." said Dilandau calmly. "It's her decision."

Taiahna looked from Allen's grief-stricken face to Dilandau's silently sinful one.

"I'll stay." she said quietly. "Allen, you take the others to Fanelia."

"No!!" cried Allen. "You can't!!"

"Excellent." Dilandau hissed. "Miguel, you have their weapons, right? Bring them to me. You and Chesta are to follow them to Fanelia's gates. What they do beyond there is their decision. Once they have reached the city, you will report back to me immediately. If any of them try to escape, one of you will report back to me, and the girl will be executed immediately." Allen's face fell in defeat.

'Why sister?' Allen mouthed silently, hoping there had to be some reason.

'Because he won't kill me.' articulated Taiahna. Allen looked doubtful, but knew that the best thing to do was to go to Fanelia.

"Can I say goodbye?" asked Taiahna quietly.

"Yes, yes. Say your goodbyes." Dilandau waved his hand in a noncommital fashion. "This will be the last time you ever see them."

Taiahna hugged Charles who was now weeping silently, and went over to Allen, whose ankles had been untied in order for him to sit up. Taiahna hugged him, and he did his best to hug back, despite his bound wrists. Taiahna took this opportunity to 'accidentally' drop the letter from Duke Hanley into Allen's lap. She'd kept the letter in her waistband since she'd retrieved it from Midori's. Allen pretended he hadn't noticed, and shifted so he could grasp the letter and slip it into his jerkin. Dilandau was too busy issuing orders to notice any of this. After he was untied from the tree, his wrists bound, Taiahna gave the King of Asturia a hug as well and then walked back over to Dilandau.

"I'm ready to go." she informed the warlord quietly.

"Took you long enough." he returned haughtily. He bound Taiahna's wrists. He then drew his dagger from his boot and ran it lightly along Taiahna's right cheek, making a long, thin cut, just deep enough to draw blood. The sight of the blood stirred feelings in him that he hadn't known since the battle at Seldory, when he'd first lain eyes on his blood-red beauty. He wet his lips and chewed at the right corner of them while half-smiling almost seductively, lust dancing deep in his eyes. Taiahna couldn't possibly miss this expression.

Neither could Allen. "Don't you dare hurt my sister you bastard!!" he yelled menacingly over his shoulder while the Dragon Slayers herded him off with the other two at sword point.

Dilandau waited until they had disappeared completely into the night before moving. He ran the tip of his tongue slowly over the cut he'd made. Taiahna flinched.

"You taste wonderful, Taiahna." his voice lowered to a whisper, "Just like last time. Only _better_. Yes, I missed the taste of your blood." A wistful expression came over his features. He pressed the point of the dagger between her shoulder blades. "Let's go."

"Where?"

He pressed the dagger harder into her back.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out. Now move it." Dilandau marched Taiahna through the black trees, seeming to know exactly where he was going. After what seemed like hours to Taiahna, they reached another clearing in the thick trees where she could see a tent and the burned out ashes of a campfire.

'_Oh no. Not again. Please, no. Not the tent...' _

Dilandau seemed to read her very thoughts. "Let's go girl. Tent."

Taiahna trudged towards it as slowly as humanly possible. Dilandau applied more pressure to the dagger.

"Today, girl." he growled.

Taiahna entered the tent and sat down on a small stool in the corner and squeezed her eyes shut. _'This isn't happening. This isn't happening. If I can't see him, he's not there. Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is bliss...' _She hazarded a glace across the room. Dilandau was smiling at her in amusement at her terrified antics. She shut her eyes again. _'Please Creator! Make him go away! Just make him go away!_'

"What are you doing girl?"

"Praying." she whispered.

"You should be."

Taiahna opened her eyes. _'No. I won't be afraid. At least I can deny him any pleasure in my fright.' _The redhead bit down hard on her bottom lip, folded her arms tightly over her chest (as best she could, for he wrists were still bound), clamped her legs crossed and slouched. She watched as Dilandau approached her at a maddeningly slow pace, a hungry gleam in his eyes. He tried to kiss her, but her lips were literally sealed shut. He moved on, caressing her cheek gently. She didn't flinch. He tried to lift her from the stool, but she just remained curled in on herself. No matter what he did, she just sat there, unmoving, seemingly uncaring.

"Well it's not fun if you don't fight back!" he pouted, turning around and crossing his arms.

"I will not be raped by my own sister." she commented pointedly.

Dilandau whipped around and grabbed her by the shirt collar, lifting her off the stool.

"What?! What did you just call me?!"

"My sister." she replied calmly, her feet dangling a foot or so above the ground. "Allen told me about who you are. You're really Celena. You're my sister, well, half sister anyhow."

"I most certainly am not!" he yelled. "I am _not_ a woman. I am _not_ your sister."

"Either way, I won't be raped by you. That's incest. Worse, it's incest between sisters."

"I am not a woman!!! I am Dilandau Albatou. I was one of the four Demon Generals of the Zaibach empire. I-"

"That doesn't make any sense at all." she interjected, "Everyone knows the four Generals are Adelphos and-"

"I said 'was'. Not 'is'. Strategos Folken explained it to me. The sorcerers killed me, and then called my soul back into a new body in the future. The body was that of Celena Schezar. My soul transformed the body so it would be like it was before. Then the-"

"How do I know this isn't all a lie? That you're just making this up as you go along so you can get some. How do I know that-"

"Why do you keep interrupting me?"

"Why do you keep interrupting _me_?"

Dilandau exhaled in frustration and dropped Taiahna back onto the stool she'd been sitting on. He began to pace back and forth.

"Strategos Folken will explain it to you. He even has the sorcerer's journal."

"I'm telling you. If you rape me, it won't be an enjoyable experience for you. I'll just sit here and not move. If you try to force me onto that cot over there, I will fight you tooth and nail. I'd rather die then be violated in that way my own sister."

"There are other things I can do with you. Besides, I'm not your sister."

"We shall see."

He stopped just in front of her and ran the tips of his fingers along the encrusted blood of the cut he'd made not too long before.

"Maybe I should make it deeper." He grinned, stroking his own scar on his right cheek. "Then you'll have a memory of your worst enemy as well." He stared off into space, eyes wide and unfocused.

"The memory that will haunt forever... my dreams are full of him... if there's anything I'm afraid of, it's that when I kill him he won't leave my dreams..."

"Who?" asked Taiahna cautiously.

"VAN FANEL!!" he roared, swinging around and kicking the small low table, making it break and send splinters flying in all directions. "THE BASTARD KING OF FANELIA!!" he stopped abruptly, breathing heavily and smiling insanely. "But it's just _wonderful_ now... yes... Because I killed him! He's _dead_! DEAD!!" Dilandau stopped pacing the floor, sat down on the cot and began to whimper piteously. "Then why? Why won't you go away?? GET OUT OF MY HEAD VAN!! GET OUT!!!"

Taiahna stared momentarily and then approached Dilandau's quivering form carefully.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a terrified whisper. _'Why am I doing this? He killed my family and friends and now I'm trying to comfort him...?'_

"Do I look OKAY?!"

"Is there anything I can do?"

He looked at her incredulously. "Are _you _okay?? I've just kidnapped you, you idiot!!" he pointed furiously to the tent flap. "Get out! You... you confuse me!!" Taiahna went outside quickly, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to make her getaway.

"If you try to escape, your friends die. Stay where I can see you girl." Taiahna layed down on the hard ground and fell asleep shortly, shivering under the cold stars. This night, Dilandau's dreams would not be of his worst enemy at all, but of someone else...

End Part Seven

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: And there's part 7.

Yay. Wasn't that fun? Yes... yes it was...

So what did you all think of Dilandau's little breakdown there?

whispers _Holy spaz!!_

Dilandau in the distance: Hey!! I heard that!!

What's gonna happen in 8?

Hmmmm. Oh yeah! new character alert He's pretty cool. His name is... Ahire'leah... Oooo... exotic... yes... clears throat

To SkullyCat Marie: Hide and seek! snickers

See you all soon!

Planeswalker


	8. Dreamer's Reality

I walked up to the _reave_ and poked him in the _eyes_. "Ow!" he s_aid_.

_Reave, eyes, _s_aid._

Revised.

Harhar.

I have too much time on my hands.

New A/N: This chapter is also going to include a brand new section with Dilandau and Taiahna :)

Old A/N: Hey people!

It's me!

Who else would it be?

Hmmm for infinity that reminds me I've written a poem called Ad Infinitum and it's Dilandau thinking after he's just killed Van (MWAHAHAHAHAA!!).

So, if you wanna, check it out.

Yuppers.

On with the show:

Disclaimer: Same stuff as ALL the other chapters except I own Ahire'Lea (Aha!! I bet you didn't expect a new character!!) ((Just in case your were wondering, that's pronounced Ah-_hee_-ray-Ah-_lay_. Yes, the little ' is said like Ah in some languages. It is in this one. Okay.))

And without further ado, Chapter 9 of Ash, Betrayal and Bloodlust: Dreamer's Reality

Heh.

O0O0O0O

Through thee, the gracious Muses turn

To Furies, O mine Enemy!

And all things of beauty burn

With flames of evil ecstasy.

Taken from Dark Angel by Lionel Johnson (1867-1902)

O0O0O0O

"Lord Dilandau?"

"Mmph."

"Lord Dilandau, can I talk with you for a moment?"

"What the hell are you doing girl, waking me up at this time?! I need my rest you know!"

"I just thought that... well... I've reconsidered."

"Reconsidered what? Oh. Go ahead and run away. I'll send word, and your friends will be dead within a day or so." Dilandau rolled over on the cot and pulled the blankets over his head.

"No. Not about that... I believe you, about what you said... when you think about it, it doesn't make too much sense that you're my sister. It's obvious you're a guy, you being so incredibly sexy, but maybe just so I'm sure, you can, I don't know, show me?"

Dilandau rolled back over and swung his legs over the side of the cot, sitting up. "You want me to what?!"

Taiahna giggled. "That is, if you want to show me..." Dilandau grinned as she walked closer to him.

"What do _you _think my answer will be?" he asked slyly.

"I don't know..." she replied teasingly, playing with a piece of his silky-soft hair. She leaned over and kissed his nose gently. Dilandau's grin grew wider as he enfolded his arms around her.

"You would not believe how long I've been waiting for this exact thing to happen."

"Of course I would. I've been wanting it just as long." she leaned over and kissed him on the nose again. He decided that this was enough teasing, and he began to rip off her clothes. Taiahna followed suit. Dilandau pinned her to the cot.

"I was right about you."

"How so, General?"

"I knew you would come to me. I also knew you were just a whore."

She smiled. "You know it."

Dilandau laughed, and then sighed.

"What is it?"

"This is just like a dream."

Taiahna giggled again. "That's- because- it is- ." she said, tapping his nose three times.

"What?!"

Dilandau's eyes snapped open as he realized he was in his cot, and it had indeed all been a dream. Three more drops of water fell from a leaf, through a hole in the tent, and onto Dilandau's nose where they landed with three identical taps.

"AAARGH!!!"

Dilandau got off the cot, his muscles sore from sleeping in his armour. He grabbed his sword and stalked out of the tent, tripping over Taiahna who was sitting next to a small campfire.

"DAMN YOU!!" He kicked the fire, sending sparks everywhere, many of them landed on the tent. Dilandau settled down on a nearby stump and watched the flames lick greedily at the grey material.

"Umm... the tent's on fire."

"I know."

"Don't you have stuff in there?"

"Don't care."

"It's the monosyllabic man..."

"Quiet; fire."

"Okay..."

The fire calmed Dilandau. Taiahna sat very still as the warlord examined the burning flames.

_You burn for him... Flames. Everywhere... surrounding... enfolding... engulfing..._

"No!" she cried.

Dilandau jumped up. "What?"

_You're burning up inside... with want for him... desire... hunger... lust..._

"NO!!"

"What's going on? 'No' what?" Dilandau moved closer to her to see what was wrong.

"Get away!! It's not true! I don't! I can't!" Taiahna began sobbing.

_You need him... Give yourself to him... everything will be as is should in his fiery embrace..._

"No... It won't..."

_Just admit it... _

"I won't admit it! It's not true!"

_Sweaty bodies entwined in the darkness... The sounds of laboured breathing and the occasional scream; sometimes for mercy, sometimes for more..._

Taiahna curled in on herself and began rocking back and forth repeating the same word until it began to run together and make no sense to her anymore.

"No. No. No, no, no, no, nononononononono!!!"

"What's going on? What the hell is the matter with you??" Dilandau remembered what the Stategos had told him: _If she starts talking to herself, or having something similar to a seizure it's because she hasn't admitted to having her power yet. Because I don't know much about her, I can't know exactly how it will affect her. Anything she associates with her power can trigger these visions, which can seriously damage her if they get too bad. The most likely cause of a dangerous vision is a moral dilemma. _Tell her to accept to truth. This should help put an end to the vision.

"Girl, listen. If you just admit to whatever, the visions will go away." she looked up at him teary eyed.

"Why do you care if they go away?"

"If you die, I lose my job."

"You don't care."

"No. Not really. I mean, I want you, like, your body, as in I want you intimately. But I couldn't really care any less about you. Do you know what I mean?"

She sniffed. "Uh-hun."

"Great. Now just admit whatever you won't admit, and those vision things that are happening will go away. Strategos Folken told me so."

"But- but- I can't admit to a LIE!!"

"It's obviously not a lie if these vision things are happening because of it."

Taiahna looked into Dilandau's scarlet eyes._ 'Maybe...'_

The flames covering her vision dimmed, and then finally disappeared.

"They're gone." she informed him with a shaky voice, "For now."

"Finally." Dilandau watched sadly as the last ashes of the tent smoldered. "You made me miss the fire."

"They'll be back. They always come back." she said in a terrified voice.

"I know. That's why we have to get you to Folken before you die."

"How do you know?"

"The Strategos has been studying these things for ages. He knows. He also knows that I'm not a _woman_!" he spat out the last word.

Taiahna giggled, wiping tears from her face.

"Can you not do that?!"

"Not laugh? Why?"

"I just had a very disappointing dream with a laugh that sounded a lot like that..."

O0O0O0O

"Are they still behind us Charles?"

"Yes." answered the boy without even turning around.

"How do you do that?"

"I just... know. I can just sense them behind me. I feel them there."

Allen's eyebrows raised. That was a pretty deep answer from a twelve year old.

"If you had any ability to sense people at all, it'd be in effect now." commented Charles.

"Why?" asked Allen curiously.

Charles pointed to a blonde-haired man walking swiftly across the market.

"That man just took your gold pouch."

Surely enough, when Allen checked, it was gone.

"What?!" Allen took off after the man through the crowned market place, dodging carts and shoppers alike. "Somebody stop that man! He took my coin purse!" Allen saw him take off down a narrow alley. Instead of following him, he ran around the corner and intercepted him, tackling him to the ground. The man was a bit shorter then Allen; he had short, spiky flaxen blonde hair and hazel eyes that twinkled with mischief.

"I've got you, you bastard!" snarled Allen.

"I didn't steal your coin purse! I swear!"

"Did I ask you about my coin purse? You've just admitted to the crime." the thief paused.

"Look Sir, I didn't take it."

Allen grabbed the man's wrist and pried open his palm where his gold pouch was clutched. "It's right here." said Allen, shaking the bad in the man's face, "What a pathetic thief you are!"

"Hey! That's mine!"

Allen gave the man a death glare. "I've had a very bad couple days. Shall I elaborate?"

"No thank-you, Sir." answered the thief.

"I'm taking you to the King. I hope he orders your hands severed for stealing."

"Oh please no!" cried the man, "I'll do anything!"

At this moment, Allen realized he must have looked slightly odd lying on top of a another man in the middle of the street. "Let me help you up." Allen paused. "Hmmm. I might have a use for you after all."

"What would that be?" asked the man, brushing himself off.

"Although you didn't cover up your crime well, that makes no difference, the act of thievery itself was executed flawlessly. You have an obvious talent. I didn't notice you had my purse until you were nearly long gone."

"Well, I do pride myself on my ability to-"

"Don't interrupt me when I speak."

The thief grumbled to himself. "Yes, Sir."

"Can you also get in and out of places well?"

"As well as I can pick a pocket."

Allen raised an eyebrow. "But how can I trust you? You're a thief."

"I guess that's a chance you'll have to take."

"I guess so. I'm running out of time and I need someone with your talents."

"I expect half my money in advance, and then-"

"You'll get no money."

"What?"

"Let me put it this way: Do you want your hands?"

"Yes."

"Then no money. What's your name?"

The man smiled and bowed. "Ahire'lea of North Celinor, thief extraordinaire at your service good Sir. Nothing is impossible for me."

"Wonderful." said Allen sarcastically. "Come on. We have to get to the castle Fanelia."

"What?" exclaimed the man in confusion, "You're bringing me in after all?"

"No. The king is a personal friend of mine."

"Wonderful." said Ahire'lea, less than enthusiastically.

"Let's get back to my friends."

They started walking back the way they came.

"So who are you travelling with?"

"Just a boy and the King of Asturia."

"Oh okay... the King of Asturia?!"

"That's what I said."

O0O0O0O

Dilandau had packed the tent and supplies into a large rucksack, which he now hefted effortlessly onto his back.

"Let's go, girl."

Taiahna stood from her stump and followed Dilandau down the narrow forest path.

They walked.

The forest was quite lovely; the leaves of the deciduous trees mostly having changed colours and fallen, covering the forest floor in a carpet of reds and golds. Every now and then the chill autumn wind whipped down the path, blowing the leaves hither and thither in clumps and small whirlwinds. The sun shone through the sparser than usual canopy, splashing light and warmth down the trail.

None of this mattered to Taiahna. She was miserable. Every time escape occurred to her, she remembered her friends, and that their lives hung in the balance. Every time she looked up at Dilandau, she remembered the death of Midori, and the strange fact of her attraction to his murderer, except she would not admit the attraction to be true. How could she physically desire such an evil man? She had witnessed him kill, and Creator forgive her, it had been beautiful. He had elevated the use of the sword to an art, and as a swordswoman she admired his skill and longed to test him. She had even witnessed him kill someone close to her, but every time she met his eyes she felt a manner of bond between them. How is it that two such opposite people could ever be good for each other?

She wanted him; and the deepest part of her knew it was true, but needed to lock these feelings away. For the sake of her conscience. For the sake of her sanity.

But she knew, she had truly found her match.

O0O0O0O

"This looks like as good a spot as any." said Dilandau setting down his rucksack in a clearing. "We camp here tonight. I don't need to stop, but you look like you're about to collapse." Taiahna entered the clearing a short while later. She looked very tired.

"How can you keep up such a pace all day long? And you're wearing armour!" Taiahna flopped down on the grass.

"It's simple. I do it often. It gets easier each time."

"Sure." she mumbled half asleep already.

Dilandau set about erecting the tent around her.

"About an hour's walk from here is where the horses have been left for us."

"Okay." she muttered sleepily. "Horses are... good..." Her eyes closed gradually as she drifted off to sleep sitting straight up.

'_What an odd girl you are.'_ He mused to himself while shifting closer to see if she really was asleep. Taiahna grumbled something in her sleep and then fell over sideways, her head in Dilandau's lap. He started, but then relaxed, smirked and beginning to stroke her scarlet hair.

"See. You come to me even in sleep." He kissed her while she slept, and as she felt his tongue intruding her mouth, she did nothing but kiss him back passionately.

'_What is wrong with me? Am I developing some sort of feelings for this girl? Do I _want_ to have feelings for this girl? Maybe it's time I take a wife. She can withstand the battlefield and with that power of hers she'll bear strong sons. Can I make her truly want me? ...can I make her love me? What does our future hold ?'_ Dilandau lay down with Taiahna's head on his stomach, still stroking her hair.

"I wonder." he whispered to himself. Moments after he'd fallen asleep, three words crossed Taiahna's lips in a voice that was not her own:

_"Nothing but pain."_

O0O0O0O

"Where is King Van? I need to speak with him. It's absolutely urgent."

"Who shall I say is asking?" asked the new Regent of Fanelia politely.

"I'm Allen Schezar! Captain of the Knights Caeli, and a personal friend of King Van! Now let me speak with him."

"Pardon me, Sir Allen. Follow me please." The old man that was the regent led Allen down several corridors and up to the young King's bedroom.

"He's there, in bed."

Allen walked over to Van, who was lying on his back in a great feather bed. He attempted to smile when he saw his old friend, but the circles under his eyes and unusually sallow complexion made him look even worse. Allen sat down in a chair nearby.

"Van! What happened to you?!"

"Dilandau got in here somehow. He chopped me up pretty good." Allen looked puzzled.

"I don't see any wounds or blood."

"He got my wings, Allen. The old stories say that the Draconians' wings were linked directly to their souls." Allen still looked puzzled.

"I'm dying Allen." The words hung in the air for a moment before Allen came to fully comprehend them.

"No! You can't be! You have a kingdom to rule; a nation to take care of!"

"I rebuilt Fanelia just as I'd promised. Everything is in order. Whoever becomes King next should do just fine."

"But, who will be king?"

"I don't know. There's only one person who could be, but I fear he's been killed. He lived in the city of Koriella under the protection of the Duke Hanley. I've received word that the city has been slaughtered to the man."

Allen started in surprise. _'If what he says is true, that person could be...'_

"Charles?"

Van's eyes opened wide with shock. "How do you know his name?"

Allen turned and pointed to the boy who stood in the doorway in between a very nervous looking Ahire'lea and a relaxed Dryden.

"He's right there."

"Come here boy." said Van.

"Me?" squeaked the boy while inching slowly over.

"Yes." the king answered, "Now take off your shirt."

"Pardon Sir?"

"Take off your shirt." he repeated.

"All right Majesty, if you really want me to." The boy peeled off his gray shirt.

"Just call me Van. Now turn around."

He did so. As Van touched the boy's right shoulder blade, there appeared the crest of Fanelia.

Charles turned back around the face the king of Fanelia who so resembled him. "Why am I allowed to call you by your first name?"

"Because I'm your big brother."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna awoke with her head resting on Dilandau's stomach and began to panic. _'Oh Creator. I guess I moved here during that dream about kissing him... how embarrassing... I'd better move now before he finds me on him. That sounds so incredibly wrong...' _Taiahna started to move away, but found a hand resting on the side of her head, fingers entwined in her hair. _'Okay... now how did that happen? Maybe its best if I don't move... But what's going to happen when he wakes up and finds me here?' _She tried to carefully extract the fingers from her hair without waking their owner. She lifted his hand away and sat up, laying it back down slowly. She looked down at the sleeping Dilandau. _'He seems almost... peaceful...? Hmm. Peaceful Dilandau. Now there's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one...' _Dilandau, whose features did indeed return to a deceivingly childlike innocence in sleep, stirred.

"Plaything is gone..." he mumbled to himself before rolling over in the cool grass.

"Should I wake him up?" she whispered to herself, "He looks so cute asleep."

"I'm a light sleeper you should know." said Dilandau, startling her.

"Oh. You're awake." she stammered.

Dilandau rolled back over to face her and grinned.

"Do I really look 'cute' when I'm asleep?" he taunted.

"I was being sarcastic." she replied hastily.

"Sure you were." he said while stretching and sitting up. "Alright. Let's go." Taiahna groaned. This was going to be a long day.

End Part Eight

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

That's the end of this chapter.

Sorry if it's kinda' boring.

Geez! Everybody seems to be related to everyone else in this fic! ;

What did you all think of Ahire? I think he's hip Yeah. He's kind of, how shall I put this, blonde :) but he's adept at his work. Nimble fingers!! (That didn't sound too good)

In a little singing voice Guess what's happening next chapter (or the one after it)?

Something you've all been waiting for is going to happen like cough Dilandau and Taiahna getting it on! cough cough

Geez I really am coming down with something ;;

So next chapter should be out soon. It's called: Welcoming Blood

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Peace Love and Happiness to all people who think Dil is cool!!

Planeswalker Pyro Sam


	9. A Dark Welcome

Revisado.

New A/N: Seriously, looking through my old author notes... they're all like, OMG I'm sorry this took so long! I'm such an ass, lol. I can't believe anyone actually read this all the way to the end considering how long it took me to finish it... Years! Literally years! Lol.

Disclaimer: For serious, if you think I'm going to start claiming I own the characters of Escaflowne now, like wtf. Did you really read this story for 8 chapters only to come to the 9th expecting me to make this horrible confession? I hope not, because you'll be terribly disappointed. Earlier disclaimers stand, and I'm sick of making them... well, revising them. Whatever. This disclaimer totally counts as the disclaimer for the rest of this fic.

O0O0O0O

It was an absolutely silent afternoon excepting the sounds of small animals rustling in the long grass beside the beaten trail. A chipmunk scurried from the way of a large black stallion that marched along the path, followed by a grey mare.

"We're about an hour from the camp, girl."

"I have a name you know."

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want to call to."

Taiahna fumed silently at the young man. At times she wanted nothing more then to hack him limb from limb, but she was at a slight disadvantage, seeing as her sword was several miles back in the woods. She tried another tactic.

"I'd really appreciate if you called me by my name."

Dilandau smirked. "Can I call you 'Tai' then?" he asked innocently.

Taiahna's eyes opened wide.

"Did you just think of that now… or were you there… no! You weren't!" Dilandau grinned mischievously.

"Of course I was. Well, I happened along in the middle of it really. I was there for the good parts though..."

"You pervert!!" Taiahna shrieked.

"Miguel had been following you, and when I went to check your position you and that Midori were on the ground together. Quite a little show you put on actually until you started with the cold feet."

Taiahna snorted indignantly. Dilandau's expression turned more serious. "What did you expect me to do? Avert my eyes? I was hunting you. When you hunt, once you have sight of your prey, you never take your eyes off it. Never."

"Are you trying to give me advice?"

"You know what I'd like to give you." he replied smoothly, although using the comment as a way to change the subject. "Although I'd really prefer if you gave it to me."

"Just, don't even talk to me. "

There was a long silence between captor and captive.

'_This is boring!!'_ Thought Dilandau._ 'I think she does this on purpose to drive me insane. I can't _stand_ silence... it reminds me of being alone...' _Dilandau shuddered at the memories. _'But she couldn't know that...' _Remembering a favourite conversation among the soldiers, he laughed.

"Girl- or Taiahna, do you know what the exact motion of riding a horse reminds me of? It-" he smiled wickedly, but his smile fell. "Oh, never mind. You wouldn't get it."

"Excuse me?" she asked. "I know exactly what you're talking about!"

Dilandau turned in the saddle and fixed her with a penetrating stare. "Then what is it?"

Taiahna blushed and looked away. "It's... well..." she snorted in disdain. "I don't want to talk about that!"

Dilandau turned up his nose, that same conceited look back on his face. "You're still a _virgin_, aren't you? You're just a girl. I, on the other hand, am a man."

Taiahna laughed. "I'm pretty sure we're the same age. Besides, I _am_ a woman. I have my regular flow of the moon. In fact, the day after Zaibach attacked Seldory, it ended. And I had it again not too long-"

Dilandau's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ugh! That is much more information then I wanted! I didn't mean _biologically_... I meant like, 'a man is not truly a man until he has killed'." he quoted .

Taiahna raised an eyebrow, then shook her head. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Killing every second man and sleeping with every second woman, like you do, does not make you a man. You not very mature. I mean, look how this conversation came about! You were comparing riding a horse to riding a wom-" she stopped herself. "I don't know why we're discussing whether you'd be a boy or a man when I'm not even sure whether you're a man or a woman."

Dilandau stopped his stallion, stopped Taiahna's and gripped the collar of her shirt all in one fluid motion.

"What did you say?" he asked menacingly, biting off each word.

"I said that-"

He let her go roughly. "I know what you said." he snarled. "Just don't say it again."

Taiahna laughed at the steaming warlord and spurred her mount to catch up with his. "See, you reacted like a little boy My point has been proven."

"I am not a boy!!" Dilandau stopped himself, smirked, and in a controlled to tone added: "And I am most certainly not _little_."

Taiahna's face bore a confused look which was quickly replaced by disgust. "If you're referring to what I think you are then that's just... Ugh!"

Dilandau chuckled as they climbed over the next rise to see the massive war camp sprawled out beneath in the valley. It looked like a disease to the surrounding greenery.

"Welcome home Tai."

O0O0O0O

"So... I'm your brother?" asked Charles in disbelief.

"Yes you are. After Folken disappeared, my mother slowly faded away. I discovered afterwards that it was because Folken was gone that she had died. A Zaibach sorcerer cast a powerful spell upon her causing her to weaken when separated from any of her children's life forces for extended periods of time. She knew Folken was still alive because she was aware of the spell cast upon her. If he'd died, she'd have not been suffering. She knew she was going to die, and so when she gave birth to you, she sent you to live with your uncle so you'd not become a target for assassins."

Allen stared at Charles in shock. '_The heir to the throne of Fanelia? This little boy?'_

"Charles.." began Van again, his weakened voice making him seem years older than seventeen years. "You know I'm dying. I don't have much longer. I entrust Fanelia to you." The king turned his eyes to the starry sky beyond the balcony across the room. "I just wish I could see her one more time, Allen."

A bright light suddenly filled the room. A girl with honey-brown hair and deep green eyes descended onto the balcony.

"Is it... Hitomi?!" cried Van. He tried to sit up, but found he didn't have enough strength left. "Is that you?"

The girl turned around and saw Van lying on the bed. Tears filled her eyes as she ran over to him. "Van! Oh my God! Van! What's wrong?" The king smiled sadly.

"I'm dying Hitomi. I- I needed to see you one more time." he hesitated, "Have you found another on your Mystic Moon?"

Hitomi buried her face in his chest. "Never Van." she whispered. "You're the only one I'll ever love."

Allen put a hand on one of Charles' shoulders. "Let's go. They need some time alone." They left Hitomi alone with Van, closing the door behind them.

"Who was that woman?" asked Charles softly. "Is she really from the Mystic Moon?"

"Yeah." answered Dryden, who hadn't spoken in a while. "Her name's Hitomi. She was here two years ago or so, and she and Van fell in love." Charles had tears in his deep brown eyes that mirrored those of his brother's.

"Is he really going to die Allen?"

"I'm afraid so Charles." The knight's voice wavered. "But you have to be strong for your country." Charles wiped away the tears making small wet paths down his cheeks.

"Okay. I'll be strong, for Fanelia."

A great wail rose up from the King's bedroom that some swear was heard over the whole of Gaia. At that moment, the world knew that Van Fanel had died.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna heard a loud scream that floated over the breeze and into the war camp. Some soldiers looked up at her in puzzlement. She was the only woman for miles; where had the scream come from? Most soldier actually disregarded the mystery of the scream and jeered at Taiahna instead, making a variety of rude gestures. Any soldier who got too close got a death glare from Dilandau.

"I'm warning all of you men now." said Dilandau in a firm voice that carried through the valley. "If any of you touch this girl, I will personally see to it that you have a meeting with your worst nightmare." The men all backed off immediately. A threat from Dilandau Albatou was not an idle one. Dilandau dismounted and helped Taiahna from her horse. He offered his arm mockingly, and Taiahna accepted, not to please Dilandau, but because she didn't think she could stand otherwise. He walked her to Folken's tent.

"Folken?"

A tall man with teal hair and dark sorrowful eyes walked from the shadows in a cloak just as dark.

"Ah, you're back Dilandau. I had a feeling you would be today." Folken took Taiahna gently by the arm and led her a chair where she collapsed gratefully. Folken stared at Dilandau as if to ask, well, aren't you going to leave?

"I need you to clear something up Folken. Explain to this girl that I am not, or ever was a woman."

Folken laughed quietly.

"It's true. Would you like to know what happened?" Taiahna looked at Dilandau, and then back at Folken.

"Yes, I would."

"It all began many years ago. A generation of Zaibach sorcerers before my time discovered a way to bring back the dead, or so they thought. Before using it on themselves, they needed to know that it worked.

At the time, Dilandau Albatou was on of the four Demon Generals of Zaibach. He has been wounded grievously in a freak explosion of a nearby guymelef, and was confined to his bed, asking everyone and anyone who came into the room to kill him because his honour would not allow him to die in bed from injuries.

The sorcerers of Zaibach made a deal with him. If they performed a certain ritual at the next full moon, it would be possible to call back his soul in the future. Of course, he would have to die. His loyal Dragon Slayers offered their lives as well, as they didn't see the point of living on without their general; such was and is their dedication. So the ritual was preformed, and Dilandau and his 'Slayers were forgotten.

Seventeen years ago, I discovered the journal of one of these sorcerers. He explained how to bring back the souls of the great General Dilandau and his chosen warriors. What the spell had done, was trapped their souls in the in-between place of the universe, called the Netherspace. All we had to do was find body for these souls to inhabit.

We sent soldiers to capture young girls. Why? you ask. The souls of the general and his knights had to become settled enough into their new bodies for us to be able to remove the existing souls, and the souls of little girls were the least likely to fight back, except for one; the soul of Celena Schezar. Celena fought Dilandau's soul, making it impossible for him to settle into the new body. Eventually, he reverted back to Celena. He was locked away in the mind of a child by the love of Celena's brother. But we Zaibach sorcerers got her back, and removed her soul for good. It now rests in the Netherspace."

Taiahna was flabbergasted. This was far beyond any explanation she'd expected. Dilandau sulked in the shadows of the corner, bitter memories of being trapped in a child's mind returning.

"So then... you're not a woman."

"I told you I wasn't!" snapped Dilandau, storming out of the tent.

Folken chuckled softly. "I've had my own little run-in with death as well. I was actually killed not too long ago. I made a pact with the Keeper; I gave him my wings. I am Draconian you know."

Taiahna stared at Folken. _A pact with the Keeper? This man is definitely evil. _Folken interrupted her private thoughts.

"Now, we should move on to more pressing matters, such as your power. Have you been having any disturbing visions? Telling you things you don't want to be real? First of all, what's your name? I'd feel awful calling you 'girl'. You're obviously a grown woman who deserves respect."

Taiahna blushed. _'He may be evil, but he's quite the gentleman.'_

"My name is Taiahna Kanzaki."

"Kanzaki? Hmmm. That explains a lot. About those visions?"

"Oh, yes... I've had several disturbing visions about, um..."

"About what?" asked Folken, looking straight into her eyes. Taiahna blushed deeper. _'He just stares right into you! Oh! You could get lost in those eyes!'_

"Well, about myself and..." she trailed off.

"And what?"

"And, Dilandau."

"Hmmm. Yes, this could be a problem. Do you have any feelings for him?"

"No! How could I? He's a monster!"

"Yes, this could definitely be a problem. Taiahna, are you aware that you posses such power? It's the power that is telling you the truth about your feelings for Dilandau."

"If my 'power' says I have feelings for Dilandau, then it must not exist, because I have no feelings for Dilandau excepting those of hate."

"Have you ever heard the saying, there's a fine line between love and hate?"

Taiahna frowned. "Not for me there isn't. Where's his tent anyway? I want to talk to him."

Folken began laughing at a volume above a whisper for once. He obviously found this girl contradicting herself very funny. "Why ever would you want to speak to him? You say you hate him. Why do you want to go talk to him?"

"Well, I don't hate him that much. But I do hate him. I hate what he's _done_! He's... just interesting to talk to. You never know what he'll say. He's very open." Taiahna frowned at Folken. "And he doesn't lie about non-existent powers."

"You know he's just being nice to you so he can bed you, don't you?"

"No, he's not... he wants more than that..."

"I've officially warned you."

"Fine. Then where's his tent?"

Folken led Taiahna through the bustling war camp up to the rim of the valley where his familiar tent was set up. Taiahna walked in.

"Dilan..." she trailed off and her eyes grew very wide. She'd caught him in the middle of changing. In other words, he was naked as the day he was born. She wasn't really surprised at how incredibly built he was. The perfectly defined muscles of his back contracted and expanded in perfect harmony as he turned around to see who had invaded his privacy, giving Taiahna a full view than she wanted.

"Who is it?"

"Eeeeyah!" she screeched running out of the tent and knocking Folken over. "Sorry!" she began pacing. "Oh Creator, I'm scarred for life!"

Folken was now doubled over in laughter on the ground as Taiahna continued to pace, muttering to herself. "You know Taiahna, I've never laughed this much in my life. I'm guessing you didn't call in first and caught him changing. Trust me, that's not the worst thing I've ever caught him doing in that tent." Taiahna raised an eyebrow. "That, and worse Taiahna."

Folken wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. _'Dear Keeper, this girl is hilarious.'_

"Dilandau?" Folken called in. "Are you dressed?"

"Yes." he called back out. Folken had to practically drag Taiahna in. She kept her eyes away from Dilandau at all costs as she sat down on the nearest stool. "Why hello Taiahna." said Dilandau.

She stared at her shoes. Dilandau crouched down in front of her and lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. "You just had to see me naked, didn't you? I'm sure you loved that." Taiahna looked helplessly into his scarlet eyes. He leaned forward so that his lips almost touched her right ear. "I told you I wasn't _little_." he whispered.

"Enough of that, Dilandau." said Folken, who was becoming annoyed. "Step outside with me for a moment please." Dilandau kissed Taiahna softly on the cut on her right cheek, grinning, and then he stood and followed Folken out of the tent. They walked a ways so that Taiahna couldn't hear them.

"Dilandau."

"Yes, Folken?" he asked in a voice as smooth as always.

"Don't touch that girl without her permission. Do you understand? If she becomes upset, it could tamper with her power and she will be useless to us. Swear on your post as general."

"Why should I have to?"

"I'll order you killed." threatened the taller man.

Dilandau glowered. "Who is this army _really_ loyal to Folken? Who's out there losing blood with them? It's not you Strategos."

"Don't threaten me Dilandau. I have more power then all of the sorcerers of the past put together. The Keeper is on my side."

Dilandau stroked his scar affectionately. "Oh don't worry Strategos. I'm going to make her want me. She'll be _begging _for it in no time."

"Just don't hurt her. Don't scar her emotionally. She could end up killing us all if she unlocks her true power without my guidance. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly."

"I'm going back to my tent to study the ancient prophecies about Towra. I think she might be Towra, but I'm not sure."

"What the hell is Towra?"

"It's an acronym for The One Who Rules All; fairly self-explanatory. Remember what I said Dilandau."

"Of course."

Folken turned in a swish of black cloak and began down the hill back towards his tent. _'Oh I won't scar her_...' Dilandau thought, _'...well, not too much. Just enough to have some _real_ fun...'_

O0O0O0O

Taiahna looked around the tent. '_Oh Creator!! I'm insane!! What am I doing in here? Maybe... Maybe I'll just tell him about the visions... yeah. I think I will...'_

Dilandau walked into the tent.

"So have you been enjoying the sights Tai?" Dilandau joked.

"I have something to tell you. It's really important." _'No turning back now...' _

Dilandau tilted his head to the side questioningly. "What would that be?"

"You know the thing I don't want to admit from the visions? They're telling me that I have some sort of feelings for you. But I don't!! You're such a- a-"

"Monster?"

"Yes! A monster! And a-"

"An asshole?"

"Yes! That too!" She caught herself. '_Is he insulting himself?'_

"Try to think about it from my perspective. I'm a general. My job is to kill people. I'm just doing my job."

"But you don't have to enjoy it so much!"

"Somebody has to do my job, and if it's me, I might as well enjoy it."

Taiahna frowned. "You don't have to enjoy it _that_ much, and take advantage of innocent people. You don't have to kill everyone."

"Actually, if the Strategos says I do, then I do. I'm the second in command. It's either listen, or die."

"Yeah well what about raping people? I'm sure he doesn't tell you to do that!"Dilandau laughed. "To the victor goes the spoils!"

"Is that what I am to you?" she asked, glaring, "The spoils of war?"

'_Yes..that's exactly what you are; a job perk. My gift of victory.'_

"No." he responded smoothly, "You're more than that now."

'_To Folken...' _

"Well then..." Taiahna looked down at her dirty, ripped clothing. "Is there anywhere I can wash?"

O0O0O0O

Taiahna waded into the cold water of the lake until it covered her up to her shoulders, her long red hair floating about her. She tossed her clothing onto the bank from where she stood. One of the Dragon Slayers had left a pair of black pants and a mauve shirt that had belonged Dilandau and a towel by the shore. The 'Slayer, Guimel, had left her bathe in peace about half an hour ago.

She was enjoying the water, no matter how cold it was, and was doing her best to wash when she backed into something. She turned around.

"AAAAAA!" She ducked deeper into the water. "What are you doing here?" If the water hadn't been so murky from all the splashing around Taiahna had done, she would have seen her second naked man in one day: Folken.

"What the...?" Folken groaned. "I forgot to tell Dilandau that I was coming here to wash first. I'm very sorry. I..." Taiahna was once again searching Folken's eyes. "Are you alright?"

Taiahna snapped out of her daydream.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are we going to do about this..." she trailed off, her arm which had been making a gesture to the empty air fell back to the water with a splash.

"I say we should do something..." said Folken, moving closer. He ran his hands over her wet shoulders, and leaning down, kissed her passionately. She started to pull away. "Come Taiahna, forget Dilandau, he is still a child. You would benefit from having someone like me; a grown man." He kissed her again.

'_This isn't the worst that could happen...' _she thought,_ 'and I do like him. This is a perfect way to prove to everyone that I have no feelings for Dilandau... _A vision flashed through Taiahna's mind.

_A small boy with teal hair and grey eyes runs up, crying, to his red-haired mother. _

_"Mommy, they were laughing at me again." _

_The mother smiles at her son while pulling the young boy onto her lap and hugging him. "It's alright sweetie."_

_"Is it true?"_

_"What dear?"_

_"Is it true I don't have a Daddy?" _

_The woman stops smiling._

_"No honey, you don't have a Daddy, but you have me."_

_"Thanks Mommy."_

"No!" cries Taiahna backing away. "No! Stay away!" Taiahna swam away from Folken, and back towards the cover of the far bank. She quickly dressed and headed back to Dilandau's tent.

End Part Nine

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: There it is!! The next chapter!!

Yup.

Are you happy Vicki? Lol

And the whole entire world, are you happy?

Good!

I was going to combine this chapter with the part with Dilandau and Taiahna... visiting... but I thought maybe you'd prefer to have two chapters each a bit longer than one mother of a chapter. So thank you for reviewing, all!

Planeswalker


	10. And The Fine Line Fades

Revised.

Old A/N: I'll just cut straight to the next chapter... no commentary... I know you're all... so excited... to... see this... next part... lol

Okay

Here it is.

O0O0O0O

Only the memory of what Taiahna had seen last time she'd burst into Dilandau's tent stopped her from running straight in.

"Dilandau? Are you there? It's me."

"Enter." called the voice through the door. Taiahna walked in through the entrance, her eyes full of tears. The tent looked like a grey blur with a splotch of red and black, Dilandau.

"I- had this vision and it-" Taiahna sat down and began to cry. Dilandau leapt up from his stool not sure what to do.

"Why don't you go tell Strategos Folken about it?" he suggested, horribly uncomfortable that there was a crying female in his tent.

"It was him." The scene replayed in her mind, tut the most horrifying part was she was seeing what would have happened if she'd stayed... "Make it go away!" she sobbed. "I don't want to be seeing this!"

Dilandau put a hand hesitantly on her shoulder. _'What do I do?' _He wondered.

Abruptly, the man in the vision switched to Dilandau; _Hot blood ran down her cheek, her own blood. A dagger in hand. A maniacal smile. _

Taiahna pushed Dilandau's hand off of her.

"Please, just leave me alone."

"I was just trying to help..." He trailed off. He then left the tent in search of Folken.

'

_Damn you to your master Folken. You're going to pay for this.'_

O0O0O0O

"We're going to WHAT?!" yelled Ahire'lee in disbelief.

"I said," began Allen in a testy voice, "that we're going to rescue my sister from the Zaibach army."

Ahire shook his head furiously. "Un-un. No way, buddy! I may be a thief, but I'm not an idiot!"

"I need someone to act as a scout for me and some other men. You're the only man we could find at such short notice."

Ahire crossed his arms and looked away. "No. I'm telling you flat out, no. I'll not risk my life for some stupid sister."

Allen frowned deeply and lifted the smaller man off the ground by the collar of his loose white shirt. "Now listen to me Ahire, and listen well. I'm only going to say this once. I have permission from the King to take not only your hands, but your _head_ if you refuse. This is not a request. It is a command. Either you come with us unwillingly and we throw you in the dungeon until you die, you refuse completely and you are beheaded, or you agree, and when we get back we will set you free."

Ahire looked to be thinking very quickly. His eyes darted to random objects in the room, trying to figure out how he might make his escape. He then sighed and sagged in the realization that he really only had one choice.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

Allan smiled viciously, showing his canines. "Excellent. I knew you'd see it my way."

A moment or two passed when neither man moved.

"Can, uh, can you put me down now?" asked Ahire in an intimidated voice.

"Sure." replied Allen dropping him. Ahire cracked his neck and looked away, crossing his arms. Allen pretended to be adjusting his baldric.

"So, how's your mother?" asked Ahire, trying to start some sort of conversation.

"She's dead."

"Oh... that's nice..."

O0O0O0O

A small boy watched the Zaibach war camp from the top of a tall pine. He climbed down slowly and carefully, taking care not to rip his new red shirt on any of the sappy branches. He approached the camp fearlessly. The boy looked around almost curiously and marched straight into the camp. He weaved in and out of the soldiers, and was not remarked by a single one. He stopped occasionally to push his wiry black hair from his deep brown eyes as he looked around for a ceratin tent; the tent of the Strategos. He spotted the tent not too far off behind him, so turning around, he walked right through a soldier, then through the fabric of the doorway, and into the tent.

O0O0O0O

"Dilandau, wait! Don't hurt Folken."

The warlord stopped in mid-step and turned around.

"Why should I not? Didn't he hurt you in some way?"

"Not exactly."

Dilandau relaxed, and resheathed his sword.

"Oh. Then why is it you're so upset?"

"It was a vision! Is was him and me and..." she shuddered. "I don't want anymore of these visions of what could be!" She dissolved again into tears.

'_Oh great'. _thought Dilandau, _'Just greaaaat.'_ He walked over to her slowly, as though he were sneaking up on something with the capabilities to bite his head off (which in all actuality, he was...) and knelt down close by.

"Listen girl, it-" Dilandau was practically knocked over when Taiahna threw herself at him, sobbing onto his shoulder.

"It's not fair! Why do these things always happen to me!" she wailed.

Dilandau, with a very pained expression on his face, patted her hesitantly on the back. "I'm sure that-"

"Every time things are going right, or at least as right as the situation will allow, I get a stupid vision that messes up everything!"

"You really shouldn't-"

"I can't believe it! Men are such pigs! You should have seen some of the things Folken was doing in that vision!"

Dilandau, who was beginning to become annoyed, simply decided that it was best if he just agreed with her. He obviously wasn't going to get a whole sentence in for a while.

"Of course."

Taiahna finally realized what she had been doing and pulled away, sitting back on the stool with her arms crossed. Dilandau stared at her quizzically.

'_What is wrong with this girl? What is her power doing to her now? _Taiahna sniffed and wiped her nose, but otherwise did nothing.

"Girl... are you alright?"

Taiahna wiped her eyes, red from crying. "Yes, I'm fine. I just really needed to get that off my chest. Thank-you."

"Sure..."

"I'll make sure not to do that again."

'

_Oh, I get it. She's embarrassed.'_

"Don't worry about it."

"Sure. I bet you think I'm completely pathetic now."

Dilandau frowned in puzzlement. "Why would you say that? I think you're doing a pretty good job of holding your own. I've seen grown men sob when I just look at them normally."

Taiahna laughed and sniffled a bit. "Thanks for trying to make me laugh. Even if you're joking at your own expense."

"No, really. They do."

O0O0O0O

A soft child's voice wafted into Folken's tent on the autumn breeze.

_"Folken..."_

The Strategos swung around, looking for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

_"Folken... brother..." _

Folken faced the doorway to see a young boy with black hair and deep brown eyes. He was wearing a red shirt and a pair of beige pants. Folken frowned. "Who are you boy? What are you doing here?"

A look of hurt came onto the boy's features. _"Don't you remember me brother?"_

"Brother? I have no brother." Then in a rush, it all came back.

_A young man with teal hair plays with that same little boy. The younger boy laughs gleefully as the elder lifts him up and swings him around._

The little boy approached Folken and held his hands.

_"Where have you gone brother? This is your body, but where is your soul?"_

"My- my soul?" asked the elder questioningly.

_"Yes brother. Your soul. Where is your soul?"_

"The Keeper owns my soul. I gave it to him in order to live. I don't know why I wanted to live anymore if I would just be drawn back into this world of endless wars. I think I may have wanted peace once... I can't remember... it's all so unclear... It gets worse by the day..."

_"Think brother. You can remember. I know you can. I believe in you." _

_A man with black wings lies dying. The tip of his own blade pierces his heart. He blinks, but when he opens his eyes, he is no longer on the cold metal floor. _

_He stands in a garden. He notices something different about himself, and looks down. His arm, once a monstrosity of artifice is now real again. He spots a gate at the far end of the garden._

_"Well if this is death, then-" He stops in his tracks. "But no, I can't leave. Not again. I have to-"_

_A woman in a red dress taps him on the shoulder._

_"Hitomi?? What are you doing here? Are you dead?" _

_She laughs. "Of course not. You don't have to be either Folken. All you have to do is sacrifice your wings."_

_"My wings? But isn't that my soul?" _

_The likeness of Hitomi smiles provocatively. "Well, yes." her expression turns pained. "But what about your brother? He knew the moment you died. He'll go out of his mind for losing you again."_

_A loud scream echoes through the garden , and the sun dims momentarily. "BROTHER!!!" _

_The ground beneath them shakes as the trees begin to fall away, leaving nothing but black scorched rock._

_"Decide Folken. You don't have much time." _

_The earth splits in half and molten lava begins to rise to the surface._

_"Alright!" he cries defeated. "But only for Van!" _

_Hitomi's laughter turns dark and corrupted as Folken realizes that he has just sold his soul to the Keeper. _

_"For you brother!"_

"AAAUGH!!" Folken held his head and fell to the ground. "It was for you brother!" he wept.

_"Come home Folken." _

Folken screamed in agony as the little Van took his hand. A bright light flashed through the room as Folken's soul was separated from his body. Folken's soulless body sat on the ground still shaking, but a young and innocent Folken stood up and smiled at his brother. He raked his fingers through his long, soft floppy hair.

_"But Van, I thought the Keeper had my soul." _

The young Van smiled._ "No, the Keeper never did. He just made you think so. The worst the Keeper can do is confuse you. Now let's go home Folken." _

Van took Folken's hand and left the twitching shadow of his past for greater things; home, and the Creator. The thing on the floor that had once been Folken began to laugh insanely. It spoke softly in a voice that was not Folken's at all.

"Now, the army is mine."

O0O0O0O

"Dilandau?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes?"

"Have you just given up on me?"

He smiled, facing the other way so she could not see. _'It's all falling nicely into place.'_

"Given up on you?" he pretended not to understand what she was getting at.

"Before you wanted... well... you know..."

He carried on his act. "Wanted what?" he asked, walking back towards her.

"You wanted... me in bed..."

"Yes, and?" he continued feigning ignorance.

"You don't want it anymore?"

"Of course I do." Dilandau chuckled softly. "I'm just under the command of the Strategos not to touch you without your permission." He strolled again in the other direction, pacing like a great cat.

"Oh. Okay."

"Was... that all?"

"Well... what if I were to give you my permission? Would you be gentle with me?"

Dilandau faced her and grinned wolfishly. "As gentle as a warlord can be."

"Then take me."

Dilandau crossed the space of the tent in three quick strides and began to kiss Taiahna. Their hands wandered over each other as Taiahna wondered if she would live to regret this decision. Dilandau began unbuckling his armour. Taiahna helped with shaking hands.

"I see you tremble in anticipation." She went to answer, but he silenced her with another kiss. "Don't speak. I want to savour this moment... remember it forever..."

The last of Dilandau's armour fell to the floor with a soft thud. He removed her clothes as well as the rest of his own. The silver-haired general pushed his blood-red beauty back onto the bed. He licked his lips eagerly and then flicked his dagger to his hand from the bedside table.

"He said I couldn't scar you emotionally." Dilandau held Taiahna still with one hand on her throat as he pressed the dagger down the length of the cut on her right cheek that was just starting to heal. He watched in fascination as it bled. "I can't kill you now, because Folken needs you, but at least I can steal your innocence." As he entered her, Taiahna's eyes opened wide as she felt him inside her.

She fully realized that he had not changed at all.

'_It's too late to turn back now...'_

Pain turned to pleasure as he began to move.

Taiahna wrapped her legs around him and brought her lips to his ear to whisper,

"D-don't stop... Don't ever st-stop..."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna awoke next morning sore all over. She felt a searing pain in her cheek, and as she ran her fingers down the deep cut the previous night came back to her in a flash.

_"...but at least I can steal your innocence..."_

"Oh no." she sobbed. "No, no, no." She looked over her shoulder to see Dilandau gone. "He doesn't care. Folken was right. He was always right." Taiahna curled up, hugging her knees and crying. "I have no one to blame..." she whispered, "No one to blame, but myself..."

Dilandau walked with his head up high through the war camp towards Folken's tent. He had quite a victorious smile on his face, and many of the soldiers who knew about the situation congratulated him on his recent conquest.

"Good morning general!" said Dallet. "Did things go well with... ahem?"

Dilandau smiled. "Of course. You didn't doubt me, did you?"

Dallet jumped back in fear. "No, Sir! Never, Sir!"

"That's a good thing to learn Dallet. Never doubt my word."

"Yes, Sir! Of course, Sir!"

Dilandau grinned mischievously. "So what was the pool up to?"

"Five hundred, Sir."

"I expect you'll be sharing with me?"

"Of course."

Dilandau shooed Dallet away as he reached Folken's tent. "And now to see to some unfinished business."

There was not a sound as Dilandau entered the tent.

"Strategos? Are you here?"

Dilandau heard a deep, rasping laughter emit from the corner of the room. A chair scraped as a dark form stood up and walked from the shadows.

"Why hello Dilandau." said the voice.

The general's first instincts told him that something was horribly wrong.

"Where's Folken? What have you done with him?"

The voice laughed again. This laugh had a chilling effect that made even Dilandau uneasy.

"What part of his was salvageable is gone. I am what is left."

"And what is that?" asked the silver-haired man cautiously.

"I am his dark side. I am the part of him most corrupted by the Keeper. I am the part of him that kills without though or remorse; the part of him that will kill _you_."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna by now had stopped feeling sorry for herself and decided that she would seek out Dilandau and have a talk with him. If she didn't decide to kill him. She pulled on the leather pants from yesterday and found a clean white shirt in the armoire. She strapped on an extra sword, tied back her long red hair and started to leave the tent when she was hit by a vision.

The visions she'd had before had just happened, like she was watching a play of some sort, and she'd be breathless afterwards from shock, but this vision hit her like brick, knocking her to the ground with its force.

_"I am the part of him that will kill you." says a shadow._

_"I don't think so." _

_Dilandau draws his sword and strikes a fighting position. A furious battle ensues between man and monster. Taiahna is not sure who to label which. Dilandau knocks the shadow to the ground, prepared to impale it through the heart, when a blade passes through Dilandau. The shadow laughs as the decoy from the ground fades away. Dilandau sinks to the ground with a look of shock on his face as he dies._

Taiahna is once again in the tent, breathing hard.

"What do I do?" she cried to no one in particular.

_If you let him die, the shadow will take control of Zaibach._

_If you let him live, the shadow will be gone, but Dilandau will take control of you._

"No! Not you again!" Taiahna clutched her head, and shook it violently. "Go AWAY!! I don't want any more voices or visions!! NO MORE!! I don't want to fight anymore!!"

_"Taiahna." _

Taiahna swung around to see the source of the voice. It was Folken, but he looked a lot younger, a childlike innocence glowing from within him.

_"Taiahna, my brother once said what you say now."_

"And what did he do?"

_"He fought. But not for himself; for Fanelia, for Gaia. Fight for Gaia, Taiahna." _

Taiahna swallowed back more tears. "I'll fight then." She stood shakily and flew from the tent into the open sunlight.

"I'll fight for Gaia."

End Part Ten

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Please don't hate me!!

cringes and dodges numerous sharp and pointy flying objects

New A/N: ... yeah. It originally took me a long time to get this chapter out. More SOON.

Planeswalker


	11. Momentary Escape From Fate

I, REVIZOR, proclaim this chapter REVISED!

Old A/N: For once I'm not going to bother you with commentary at the beginning!

Oh wait, I just did... Oh well, might as well follow up.

Wait!! I do have something important to say!!

Disclaimer: Haven't seen one of these in a while... heh heh oops. Same as all the other chapters excepting I also don't own the lyrics to the song 'The Point Of No Return' from 'The Phantom Of The Opera' which are scattered throughout this chapter.

The lyrics are not meant to be in order, and no, this is not turning into a songfic :) I just really thought this song suited the story, and didn't want this opportunity to pass me by!

I'll shut up now!

Etc.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna ran through the war camp, brushing against or swerving around a soldier every now and again. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she ran for Dilandau's life.

She burst into the tent to see Dilandau about to impale the decoy shadow on the ground when the real one appeared behind him. Taiahna unsheathed her sword and decapitated the black-cloaked thing that had once been Folken. Dilandau swung around to see her.

"But... why did you...?" he stammered.

Taiahna's pursed her lips in anger as she punched Dilandau in the jaw with all the might she could muster. The force of the hit made Dilandau's head fly back. He stumbled, almost falling, then gripped his jaw and regarded her with fury and confusion as blood trickled slowly from the right side of his mouth.

She spat a single sentence at the warlord: "I did it for Gaia."

Taiahna turned and fled into the war camp. Her world blurred together as she dodged soldiers, most of which didn't give her a seconds glance. Hearing Dilandau's angry cry, she fled to the nearby woods, climbing a great pine. She reached the uppermost branches and sat curled herself into the cradling boughs. At last her exhaustion from the day and previous night overwhelmed her completely and she fell asleep.

O0O0O0O

Allen marched down the forest path with Ahire at his right and ten others following; they were a handful of the fabled Blade Masters of the Denkhi, a tribe of natives that lived not too far from Fanelia. The Denkhi trained their children religiously from the moment they could hold a sword. They began with smaller versions of their wickedly curved scimitar-like blades and eventually grew into the two of their own of regular size that they virtually worshipped. When in combat, they would sooner suffer grave injury than allow their blades touch the ground.

"Ahire, go ahead down the path and check for signs of the army having moved closer."

"Of course, Almighty." grumbled Ahire, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Don't even think of running away. The Denkhi are the best trackers of the North. They'll hunt you down and bring you back to me faster then you can realize you've been captured."

"If they're such excellent trackers, why can't one of _them_ go ahead then?"

Allen smiled, his expression haughty. "Because _they _aren't disposable."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I just go now?"

Allen frowned, slightly disappointed that he'd failed to intimidate the other man.

"Go ahead. Be back within an hour at the very most." Allen looked out down the forest path. "Get ready. We should be there soon."

O0O0O0O

As if Taiahna's daytimes weren't nightmare enough, she had to dream as well. This afternoon she dreamt of a night she wish she'd never had to revisit; the wound it has left so recently still raw.

_The chorus of voices that spoke to Taiahna began to sing to her a song with a haunting melody:_

_Past the point of no return-_

_no backwards glances:_

_the games we've played_

_till now are at an end..._

_"Well... what if I were to give you my permission? Would you be gentle with me?" _

_Dilandau faced her and grinned wolfishly. "As gentle as a warlord can be."_

_Past all thought of 'if' or 'when'-_

_no use resisting:_

_abandon thought, _

_and let the dream descend..._

_"Then take me." _

_Dilandau crossed the space of the tent in three quick strides and began to kiss Taiahna. Their hands wandered over each other as Taiahna wondered if she would live to regret this decision. Dilandau began unbuckling his armour. Taiahna helped with shaking hands._

_"I see you tremble in anticipation." She went to answer, but he silenced her with another kiss. "Don't speak. I want to savour this moment... remember it forever..."  
_

_What raging fire shall flood the soul?_

_What rich desire unlocks its door?_

_What sweet seduction lies _

_before us...?_

"Are you Taiahna by any chance?"

"AAA!" Taiahna awoke with a start and would have fallen out of the tree if it were not for a pair of hands that held her firmly to the trunk and the knees pinning her legs to the wide branch. Taiahna was torn between killing this man for fright of the fact that he might be a soldier, or kissing him for saving her from her dream.

She chose her answer carefully. "Why would you want to know that?"

With an exasperated sigh, the man rolled his hazel eyes. "Yeah, if you're this uptight, you have to be Allen's sister."

Taiahna did a double take. "Wait a minute, Allen? The knight of Caeli?"

"Please don't tell me he's a local hero."

Taiahna smiled sadly. "He's the captain of the twelve heavenly knights; that's recognition enough."

The man winced. "Just excellent... do you know a Taiahna by any chance?"

"I am Taiahna."

The man frowned. "Okay... so now you're Taiahna?"

"Yes. Can you take me to my brother?"

"Sure."

Neither moved for a moment or so.

"Do you think you can get off of me?"

"Sure."

The two climbed carefully down the tree. When they arrived on solid ground, the man made a quick bow to Taiahna.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ahire'lea of North Celinor. Right now, I'm a scout for your brother and some Denkhi who are coming to rescue you from the Zaibach war camp. I'm not on particularly good terms with Allen Schezar, seeing as I'm only working for him because I picked his pocket, and the King of Fanelia happens to be his personal friend."

Taiahna giggled. "You picked his pocket?"

Ahire grinned at the memory. "Yeah. He chased me almost all the way around the Fanelian market before he caught me too. We caused quite a scene if I do say so myself." he added with a raised eyebrow. She burst out laughing at this. It felt good to be laughing again. Anything to distract her from last night...

"Taiahna?"

She snapped out of her dreamworld. "Oh, yes?"

Ahire offered an arm. "Shall we?"

Taiahna smiled and accepted. "Of course."

O0O0O0O

Allen walked alongside a particularly good-looking Denkhi woman. He casually cleared his throat. She looked him up and down coolly. "Yes?"

"Hello. I was just wondering what your name is."

She eyed Allen suspiciously. "My name is Langrilonamanamenkhafra."

Allen's eyes widened.

"But those who know me, call me Lan."

Allen chuckled in relief. "Hello Lan. I was wondering, would you perhaps like to go to dinner sometime?"

The woman smiled sweetly at Allen. Another woman came from behind and walked on Allen's other side. "How adorable. I suppose dinner is just an excuse to bed me, is it not?" She didn't give the shocked Allen enough time to even open his mouth. "As long as my friend can come too, I'd love to."

Allen raked his fingers through his hair, frowning, and blinking quite a bit. "Are all you Denkhi this... aggressive?" asked Allen nervously.

"No," she replied passively. The other woman slapped Allen's rear. He jumped up and let out a clipped yelp. Lan smiled as the other woman giggled. "Most are worse."

Allen swallowed. "Sure." he answered, his voice breaking.

The other warriors did their best not to laugh. As the women moved closer to Allen, he made a break for Taiahna who had just walked around the next bend. Taiahna caught sight of her brother and ran to hug him. Allen stopped Taiahna at arm's length. He glanced down to his crotch area and laughed timidly.

"You probably don't want to get to close right about now."

The two Denkhi women waved to Taiahna. She raised an eyebrow. "Allen... you haven't been...?"

"I swear! It wasn't me this time!!"

Taiahna laughed. Allen caught noticed the deep cut on Taiahna's right cheek, and his expression turned serious. He pushed her face gently to the left to get a better look. "Where did this come from?"

"Let's go sit down Allen." Taiahna took a deep breath. "I have a lot to explain."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna explained the whole thing to Allen, strategically leaving out times she'd rather not share, or for that matter, have had happen at all. It was now evening, and the Denkhi had a great bonfire roaring, around which they all sat.

"Wow." said Allen, with his arm propped up on his leg and his head resting in his palm. "I can't believe it. Folken was still alive." Allen frowned across the fire at Taiahna. "But the thing that puzzles me most is the fact that Dilandau never laid a finger on you, excepting the cut of course. It just isn't logical that he'd go so far as make such an elaborate plan to kidnap you because he wants to, well, rape you, and then he doesn't even take what he's after."

"Yeah..." she replied slowly, "it's, odd... but really, it was at Folken's comand."

"Taiahna, you said your power makes you tell the truth, right?"

"Yes...?" she responded with a pained expression.

"I hate do this to you, but I don't believe you're telling the whole truth. Answer me this: Did Dilandau do anything to you?"

"N-n-..."

_Past the point of no return-_

_no going back now:_

_our passion-play _

_has now, at last, begun..._

_The last of Dilandau's armor fell to the floor with a soft thud. He removed her clothes as well as the rest of his own. The silver-haired general pushed his blood-red beauty back onto the bed. _

"Yes.. He d-did."

"So he did rape you then?! Did he force you, or threaten you to do something?"

"I... he... d- didn-"

_When will the blood begin to race,_

_the sleeping bud burst into bloom?_

_When will the flames at last, _

_consume us...?_

_He licked his lips eagerly and then flicked his dagger to his hand from the bedside table._

_"He said I couldn't scar you emotionally_._" Dilandau held Taiahna still with one hand on her throat as he pressed the dagger down the length of the cut on her right cheek that was just starting to heal. He watched in fascination as it bled. "I can't kill you now, because Folken needs you, but at least I can steal your innocence."_

"No, he didn't force me. I- I wanted to." There was a look of imploring in her eyes, and a look of rage in Allen's.

"So he made love to you once?" he asked with an tightly restrained tone to his voice.

"Only-"

_Past the point of no return,_

_the final threshold-_

_what warm, unspoken _

_secrets will we learn?_

_"Girl," Dilandau nudged Taiahna's tired form, gently pushing her soft hair away from her face. "Taiahna?"_

_"What is it?" she asked sleepily._

_"Again?" he said, a commanding whisper in her ear._

_"Why not?"_

"Only Twice-"

_Past the point of no return,_

_the final threshold-_

_the bridge is crossed, _

_so stand and watch it burn..._

_Dilandau moved in and out of Taiahna with practised ease._

_"Say- unn- say it Tai!" he gasped._

_"I- I- ahh..."_

_Taiahna screamed and held her warlord for dear life as she reached her dizzying climax._

_"Say it girl," he whispered temptingly, "You know you want to." _

_Taiahna gave in to him and admitted that which he wanted her to. "I love you." she spoke softly._

_Dilandau laughed darkly and pulled her wearied body close to him. "Excellent." _

"Alright! Four times!"

Allen looked frustrated to the verge of near tears. "But- but... how could you?? After all he's done to you, and all he's put you through?"

"I love him Allen. I- I don't know why, but I do." Taiahna stood, and walked numbly across the clearing where she curled up among the roots of a large tree. Allen started to walk over to her, but Ahire put a hand on his shoulder. Allen shrugged it off and turned around to glare at Ahire.

"I suppose you have some sort of inappropriate smart comment to make now?" he snarled at the shorter man. Ahire pulled him away from the ears of the others.

"No, not really. I was just going to say that you shouldn't bother her for now. Try not to be so upset with her. She's young, and she probably doesn't know what love really is yet. Or maybe she is in love with whoever this person is, even though she shouldn't be." Ahire laughed and ran a hand through his hair. He grinned up at Allen. "I mean, I know it always happens to me."

"I, well.. why are calling her young when you can't be too much older?"

Ahire broke down into an all out laugh. Allen noticed the difference between this and his normal dry, sarcastic laugh. "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm young, Allen, I'm twenty-three." Ahire sat down on a nearby log. "How about you Allen? How's your luck in love been?"

Allen sat down next to Ahire. "Ha, that's a good one. Would you care for the full explanation?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright. First I thought I was in love with Princess Marlene of Asturia. We had a secret affair which produced Prince Chid before Marlene died. Then, I seduced her younger sister Milerna, attempting to fill the gap Marlene had left when she'd died. Milerna became effectively infatuated with me. Soon afterward, I realized that I'd never really loved Marlene, but had just been intrigued by her as an 'older woman'. She'd probably been seeing me as an alternative to her husband, the Duke of Freid, who was distant and cold. Then a girl named Hitomi Kanzaki came to Gaia. I fell head over heels for her. After proposing, and nearly tearing her away from the person she was meant for, I discovered that I cared about her so much because she reminded me of my little sister Celena, who'd disappeared."

Ahire nodded his head silently. "Are you done?"

Allen thought for a moment. "Yes."

"Well, I'd have you know I have an even more impressive past."

Allen leaned forward, prepared to listen intently. "I simply have to hear this."

O0O0O0O

Taiahna awoke the next morning feeling rather stiff. Her back was especially sore from where she'd it rested on a root that had been protruding from the ground. She stood up and stretched, looking for Allen.

"Maybe I can get Allen's trust back. Maybe I can make him understand." she whispered to herself. "Excuse me?" She stood on her toes tapped the nearest Denkhi man on the shoulder. He turned around and looked down at her, at full two feet shorter.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Allen is?"

The man laughed in a deep basso. "He probably went off with the women."

"He didn't!" Taiahna took a quick look around the clearing. Two women were packing up supplies with three of the men, two others were bundling firewood with another man, and the last was still asleep. "They're all here."

"Oh, I remember now. He went off with the scout. I heard some loud noises coming from the woods in their direction on my watch. You'd better go check on them." The man pointed off in the direction they'd gone.

"Thank-you." Taiahna walked at a brisk pace in that direction. She heard them talking, and relaxed knowing they hadn't been attacked. She could hear their conversation as she drew close.

"That's first time I've ever done it that way." exclaimed Allen.

"Really? I'm surprised Allen, especially a man of your expertise in the area. Are you sore at all?"

"Honestly, a bit. I feel as though walking won't be very pleasant today."

"Don't worry, it gets better with time if you do it often enough."

Taiahna walked into the clearing. "Do what?" she queried in a suspicious voice.

"Hello Taiahna." greeted Ahire cheerfully. "I bet this conversation sounded a little off if you have a mind like mine!"

"To tell the truth, I'd started to wonder." said Taiahna skeptically.

"Don't worry, I wasn't doing anything to your brother! I taught him a new sword technique, and he taught me a couple as well. We were sparring almost all night. I'm dead tired!"

"Go on ahead Tai. Ahire and I are just going to make sure the fire's out and gather our things. We'll be along shortly." Taiahna bit her lip at the nickname, but headed back to where the others were.

Allen waited until Taiahna was out of earshot before speaking to Ahire. "You have to be more careful about what you say around other people! What do you think she suspects we were doing all night now? Certainly not sparring! That's a great way to ruin a man's reputation!"

Ahire grinned. "But honestly, didn't I do a great job of covering up?"

Allen shrugged as a slow smile crept across his face. "Well, I have to give you that."

End Part Eleven

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Uh oh... I've left something up to the interpretation of the reader...

You can't pin anything on me!!

New A/N: Yeah, they totally had sex. LOL. I'm just going to come out and say it (pardon the pun).

Planeswalker


	12. Memory Of A Touch

Revised.

Old A/N: In a review a got, someone was confused about how Dilandau and Taiahna had the opportunity to, ahem, (come on people. If you read it, you know what I mean) four times. It shouldn't be too hard to comprehend, although I shall explain it anyway:

Dilandau is a general, therefore it would make sense he has a great deal of stamina... and it's not impossible to do some things four times in one night...

Disclaimer: I still don't own all the stuff I didn't own in previous chapters. I still own what I did own in previous chapters. Etc. Oh yeah, and for future reference, I own Grymm, who should be showing up next chapter.

O0O0O0O

"DAMN HER!!" cried Dilandau before slamming his sword through the table in his tent. "RAAGH!!" A stool flew through the tent flap, knocked over an unsuspecting soldier. Another loud, "I- HATE- HER!!!" was followed by the death of another stool. When Dilandau had just about screamed himself raw, and destroyed just about every piece of furniture in his tent, he composed himself, and walked outside.

"Men, listen up!"

Everyone in the camp froze, and gave their full attention to the man. They'd just witnessed the fury, and they didn't want to be the next thing to fall under the blade.

"I have upsetting news. Strategos Folken has been murdered!" Surprised gasps and angry whispers chased each other through the crowd. "That girl, Taiahna, has caused all of this! She tricked me into believing she'd come peacefully so she could kill our Strategos!" There were more angry murmurs. "We must take revenge!" He held his sword above his head. "Tonight, we march for Fanelia!" A great cry rose up from the men as the crowd dissipated to prepare for departure.

Dilandau laughed quietly. "I bet you couldn't have done _that_, Folken." He walked slowly back into his tent and sat down on what was left of the table. He drew his dagger and kissed the blade. "Five days, and you're mine." he crooned blissfully. "Mine _again_, that is."

The soldiers worked faster as they heard the insane laughter emanating from Dilandau's tent. He may have been a formidable fighter, but a leader? One thing was for certain, there wasn't anyone willing to propose otherwise.

O0O0O0O

Allen, Taiahna and company had been travelling steadily for two days already. They'd made a quick stop at a farm along the way to buy some horses to make their journey faster; any time they had ahead of Zaibach was time worth more than they could fathom. On horseback, they would arrive before the end of the day. Allen figured (considering the numbers of the Zaibach army, and the shortage of horses) it would take them about five days to reach Fanelia's capitol.

"Five days." Allen murmured to himself. "Is it enough?"

"Is what enough?" asked Taiahna, who was riding alongside her brother. Allen sighed and turned his attention to his younger sibling.

"I was wondering if we would have enough time to prepare for invasion. We'll have only about five days."

"Damn, damn, damn!" she swore in realization.

Allen laughed. "My, aren't we articulate?"

She brushed his joke aside. "If we do only have five days, there's nothing to laugh about! What do you propose we do?"

Allen looked pensive. "I have some ideas, but they all depend on more soldiers then we have at our disposal. I don't even know if the Asturian reinforcements will arrive in time. When we return to Fanelia, I'll have the job of hiring as many mercenaries as I can find."

Taiahna sighed. "Poor Charles. He probably has no idea what he's doing."

O0O0O0O

"What do you propose my Lord?"

Charles groaned. "I already told you! I don't know! Okay? Please, just leave me alone!" The Regent bowed quickly and left the throne room.

"This isn't fair!" yelled Charles, his voice bouncing across the marble floors and echoing off the high vaulted ceiling.

"Charles," whispered a small voice.

"What now?!" His eyes opened wide. "I'm sorry Hitomi. I thought you were that stupid Regent again..."

Hitomi looked up at the young King from where he sat on his throne. It was a comical sight. The boy had such a serious look on his twelve-year-old face, yet his legs still dangled above the ground from where he sat. It almost brought a smile to her face. She hadn't smiled since Van had died.

"It's okay Charles. I needed to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Hitomi felt grief tightening it's grip on her once more. He was like a small version of Van. _'Only Van is...'_

"Hitomi?"

She snapped her head up from her thoughts. "I'm sorry... I was just..."

"Thinking of my brother?"

Hitomi's tear-filled eyes looked into Charles', seeing age in his eyes. Van was there, hovering just beneath the surface.

"Van!" she cried, running up the stairs to the throne.

The shade of Van smiled, but Charles did not. He looked utterly confused. "Hitomi... what's going on?!" she put hands on the boy's cheeks and pulled his face closer to hers to look into his eyes. "Hitomi! Let go!"

All of a sudden, the shade of Van rose from Charles and stood by the side of his throne. Hitomi ran towards him. "Van! I knew you wouldn't leave!"

Then Charles saw him. Van was indeed standing there beside the throne. His eyes opened wide. "Brother? I thought you were... dead."

_"I am, in a way. But I've discovered something that could save Fanelia."_

"What is it?" asked Charles, close to hysteria.

_"It requires a sacrifice on you part."_

Charles bit his lip. "What is it brother? I'll do anything to protect our home."

_"You don't want to fight this war, do you?" _asked the shade.

"No." Charles admitted. "I don't know how."

_"Then let me win the war."_

Hitomi was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

_"Let me borrow your body Charles."_

This statement struck Charles with the force of a hammer's blow. "What... what?"

_"Let me borrow your body. I found an ancient ritual developed by the Zaibach sorcerers. Normally, a soul would have to be enchanted, and the receiving body enhanced with chemicals, but since we're Draconian, that won't be necessary. The next full moon is tonight. It would have to take place then. You'd return to your body upon the next full moon." _

Charles pondered briefly. "So then I'd be dead."

_"No, but I'd be in control of your body. It'd be something like watching a play. You would be helpless for one phase of the moon."_

"But who would perform this ritual?" asked Hitomi.

_"You would Hitomi."_

"Me? How could I possibly- I don't know how!" A translucent hand brushed Hitomi's cheek. It left her only a memory of a touch, but it was enough. "Oh Van! I- I don't know what I'll do without you!" she smiled sadly. "Just teach me how."

_"Charles, have you decided?"_

"Yes. My answer is yes."

The shade smiled sadly. _"I knew you would understand. Charles, I suggest you don't tell anyone about this." _

The boy pouted. "You think I'm stupid enough to do that?"

_"You remind me of... me..." _

Hitomi laughed, but stopped when Van began to fade.

_"I've used up my power for now. I'll be on my balcony in just an hour or so. Hitomi, be there. I'll teach you the ritual."_

"Okay Van." It made Hitomi's heart swell just to say his name again, and know that he was hearing it.

_"Until then, goodbye. Take care, and thank-you little brother."_

The shade faded from sight. Charles looked solemn. Hitomi threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Thank-you Charles! I know what a sacrifice you're making. Van will win the war! You can count on it!"

The boy King pried himself from Hitomi's nearly suffocating hug. "Sure. I'll see you later." Charles hopped down from the throne and left the room.

"Oh Van." whispered Hitomi. "I hope we're doing the right thing."

O0O0O0O

Several hours later, Taiahna, Allen and company reached Fanelia. They saw people milling about outside their houses, loading wagons with food, clothes, and many treasured belongings.

"They're evacuating." remarked Allen. The company reached castle Fanelia's great walls and left their horses to the care of a stable boy. The Denkhi stood at attention outside the gates. Allen and Taiahna began their walk through the entrance hall when Ahire caught up to them.

"Didn't you say that after helping you I could go free?" asked the shorter man.

"I did say that, yes." replied Allen without looking back.

Ahire saluted. "Then I hope I never see you again Allen Schezar! Goodbye!" Ahire turned, and began to walk away when he found his steps weren't taking him anywhere. "What the..." Ahire turned his head. Allen was holding him by the back of the collar of his shirt. "Now see here!" he cried, throwing his weight against Allen, his feet slipping out from under him on the slick marble floor. The thief glared up at Allen. "You just said that I could go!"

Allen shook his head. "No, I said _I'd said_ that you could go." He pulled the other man off the floor by the front of his tunic, and held on.

Ahire looked up helplessly. "But... I don't get it!"

Allen sighed angrily. "You can't go yet. You've been drafted into the Fanelian army. You might as well stick with me. You'll have a better chance of living that way."

Ahire was fuming. "You said, that I could go after we rescued your sister! I found her!! Why can't I go??"

Allen glared down at the thief. "Do you want to live?"

"Yes!"

"Then stay with me!"

"Fine!"

A moment passed where no one moved.

"Allen, can you-"

"Sure." He dropped Ahire and continued down the hall. Taiahna helped Allen's discarded partner back up. She struggled to hide her laughter. A moment later when they'd caught up to Allen, Taiahna announced her view on the situation. "You two fight like an old married couple." The only feedback she got from this thought was two matching angry glares.

They walked at a quick pace down the imposing hall. When they reached the end, Allen knocked on the huge oak doors with the pommel of his sword. The sound echoed down the empty hall and rattled the suits of armour that stood guard at either side of the doors. The doors swung inward on well-greased hinges. The three walked through the doors and down the long red carpet to the throne where Charles sat. Before they reached half way, Charles leapt up and ran down the carpet to throw himself at Taiahna.

"I missed you!"

She pushed him gently away. "You missed me?"

He hugged her again. "Yes! I'm so glad you're okay!" His joyful expression sobered. He lowered his voice to a whisper, and cupped his hands over her ear. "Did that awful warlord do anything to you?"

Taiahna pushed some of her hair away from right cheek so Charles could see the deep cut, destined to be a scar matching her old captor's.

Charles' eyes filled with tears. "Did he hurt you badly?"

Taiahna smiled, partially in irony. _'A night of pain and pleasure...'_

"No. Not really. This will probably scar, but that's all. I got away quite lucky."

Charles brushed the tears away and composed himself. "Thank the Creator for that. You're really the only kind of Mother-figure I've ever had. The old ladies at Duke Hanley's were nice, but they didn't really treat me like their own. Thank-you for that Taiahna."

Taiahna returned Charles' hug and stood up. "I believe we have several matters to discus." She made a small curtsy to the young Fanelian king. "Let's go Sir." she said, with a perfectly composed expression.

"Yes, good Sirs and Ma'am. Let's be on our way to the tactics room." Charles pointed to the back of the courtroom. There was another oak door just behind the elaborately carved oak dragon throne. "That's the room where we'll be deciding how to protect the future of Fanelia."

O0O0O0O

Hitomi sat silently on the large four-poster bed in Van's room. She took a deep breath and flipped the top tarot card of her deck.

"The High Priestess. Hmmm. The subconscious and dreams." Hitomi let out a small frustrated and piteous whine. "Van will only be a dream after the next full moon. Oh Van!" Hitomi walked out onto the balcony and breathed the crisp afternoon air. Over the capitol hung a curtain of melancholy and despair. People went about their regular tasks much more slowly then usually. Though their plan was to prevent any actual attack of reaching the capitol, any man with any military training knew that there was no way they could hold off the Zaibach soldiers. They were outnumbered approximately three to one.

The Fanelians did have one small advantage however, possessing the most powerful longbows in existence. Made of yew and tall as the men who bore them, they could fire an arrow accurately up to 500 paces away. There were 200 of these deadly longbows, 300 men acting as various types of infantry, and 300 cavalry. The Denkhi had 200 swordsmen to add to the army. The King had received news the previous afternoon that 500 mercenaries had arrived from overseas. Allen was to instruct them as to their positions in the army. Any men or women in the capitol able to fight had also been drafted into the Fanelian army. It was a fairly large army in comparison to many others in Gaea, who had seen no wars since the last Zaibach conflict. Many still believed that it was not enough to defeat the bloodthirsty giant from Zaibach.

O0O0O0O

The Zaibach army halted their march and began to set up camp as the sun shimmered and at last dropped below the horizon. The silver general paced in his tent. His Slayers stood in a line. He had just finished instructing them on the attack. He had finally settled down to the habitual stroking of his scar.

"Only four days men! Four!"

"Actually, there are five days left. Today isn't over, Sir."

Dilandau knocked the speaker, Miguel, to his knees with a heavy blow.

"Don't you know you never count the day you're on?" Dilandau laughed raucously at his own joke and dismissed them from the tent.

A smile akin to a snake's crept onto his face. '_Oh so soon Tai,' _he thought to himself in content. _'Oh so _very_ soon...' _

O0O0O0O

A slight breeze ruffled the thin curtains by the balcony. Hitomi, who had been sitting impatiently on Van's four-poster bed stood suddenly at the noise.

"Van? Van, is that you?"

The wind ceased as the shade of Fanelia's former King drifted to Hitomi's side.

"Oh it is you! Please teach me the ritual Van. I know I'll only have you back for one cycle of the moon, but I just have to say goodbye."

_"I understand Hitomi. I also regret not calling to Gaea sooner then I did. I- I didn't get to tell you so many things! I-"_

"Shhh." Hitomi hushed the shade. "Just teach me the ritual. There will be plenty of time for talk then. Don't waste your power now."

_"Of course." _Van composed himself._ "Charles must be asleep when it's happening, otherwise it will be too painful. Once he's asleep, you begin the chant."_

"How does it go?"

Van taught Hitomi the incantation, and repeated it for her until she had it memorized flawlessly.

_"One pause, one mistake, and we're both dead. It's all in your hands Hitomi." _

She stood a little straighter, nodding slightly. "You can count on me Van. Don't worry."

Van stroked Hitomi's hair without really touching it. She shivered and turned away.

"Please Van, it only makes it hurt more when you remind me that you're gone."

_"I'm sorry... It's just that, I keep forgetting myself. I can't believe I didn't make you stay."_

"_Make_ me stay?" she cried indignantly. "You're just as bad as the first day I met you Van Fanel!" she smiled slyly. "You really did deserve that slap."

_"I have to admit, I really did deserve it." _Van's voice lowered to a whisper. _"But will you let me give you what you deserve?" _Van kissed Hitomi tenderly on the cheek before floating back over to the balcony.

"Don't go Van..." Hitomi commanded weakly.

_"If I don't go now, I won't have enough power to last the ritual tonight. Keep my question in mind Hitomi. I regret not showing sooner how much I care."_

"But won't Charles be able to see it all? That would be a little... indecent of us?"

_"He will know nothing for the first twenty-four hours of the bonding." _he trailed off.

"Van, I-" Hitomi looked around wildly. "Van? Oh Van! Why do you always seem to vanish at the most inappropriate times!"

The door suddenly creaked open.

"...Lady Hitomi...?" Allen stood at the door.

Hitomi's eyes widened. "What is it Allen?" she asked cautiously.

Allen stared blankly.

"How much did you hear then?"

"All of it..." he answered slowly. "I'm just a bit... confused. I heard you talking to Van, and I heard him answer... How can that be?"

Hitomi decided it was better to tell the truth now that Allen knew so much.

"Van's coming back?!" cried Allen in elation.

"Yes Allen, but only for one cycle of the moon."

"Then he'll win the war for us! He has to! He will, I know it!!" There was a long silence where Allen battled with his morals. He finally gave in to his curiosity. "Hitomi?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to say yes?"

Hitomi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yes to what Allen?"

"To Van's last question..."

Hitomi blushed heavily. "That's my business!" she managed to sputter.

"You don't know, do you?"

Hitomi glared at Allen. She finally sighed loudly. "Okay, you win! No, I don't know what I'm going to say!" she blushed again. "It's just that I'm not very... experienced in that area... and what happens if I get pregnant? I couldn't go home like that! My mother would kill me! I just wish Van and I had more time together... then we could marry! Even raise a family!" Tears began to roll down her cheeks from her watery green eyes. "Oh Allen! It's just not fair! Why didn't I stay?"

Allen sat down on the bed and held Hitomi close. "Don't forget Hitomi, I'm always here for you, like a big brother."

Hitomi sniffled, and blew her nose on her handkerchief. "Thank-you Allen."

A ghost of a tear slipped down Van's cheek and fell to the ground below.

'_I love you Hitomi, always.'_

O0O0O0O

Old A/N: Sorry to cut it off at this point, but the idea of a lemony thing between Van and Hitomi kind of just occurred to me…… and I thought, what better people to ask for an opinion, then my **AHEM** loving fans…… right?

Anyhow, do you guys want a lemon? If you do, I'll be more then happier to comply.

So let me know in your reviews.

Thanks again everybody.

So please review, and if you like you can send me an e-mail at as well!

Love and mashed potatoes!!

Planeswalker


	13. Past and Present

Here's the next chapter, 'Past and Present'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, I own all my characters (Taiahna, etc.) including the new ones like Grymm, and Marshall ^.^

  
  


****

  
  


As evening fell, Allen marched up onto a wooden platform to make a speech to the mercenaries.

"Listen up men," Allen yelled, "Zaibach attacks in four days!" 

The soldiers just ignored Allen and continued talking amongst themselves. 

Allen yelled louder, "Do you understand what a grave situation this is?" The soldiers continued to ignore Allen. 

While Allen fumed, a striking man with shoulder length black hair tied into a neat queue, and his face clean shaven, excepting a small pointed beard walked up beside him. His brilliant green eyes flashed in distain at the state of the fighting force. He cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice, and yelled at the top of his lungs:

"A FREE PINT OF BEER TO THE FIRST MAN WHO ANSWERS THE GOOD KNIGHT'S QUESTION!!" The men froze, and looked up to the platform. 

"Long live Fanelia?" one soldier cried out in confusion. The man with the green eyes laughed. 

"Not quite my good sir." He then turned and bowed extravagantly to Allen. He wore a long black coat with silver buttons and matching black pants. A silken sash hemmed with silver thread adorned his waist, which was complimented by the silver buckles on his tall, freshly shined black boots that ended just below the knee. He was, in truth, a man of twenty-eight years, but he looked much younger than his age indeed. 

"My name is Commander Grymm, at your service my Knight. I am the leader of this rabble who call themselves mercenaries." 

"Come on sir!" cried a voice, "You know we're not that bad!" Allen watched the speaker walk to join them on the platform. It was-

_'...a cat man?' _Thought Allen in disbelief. _'Well, I guess if there's cat women, there has to be men' _

Allen examined the cat carefully. His hair was orange to matchhis skin, which had an orange hue to it as well and was covered in tiger stripes. As the man walked closer, Allen could see clearly that he had one green eye, and one brown. He was wearing no shirt, so his rippling muscles were visible to everyone. A tiger tail whipped the air behind him impatiently. The cat shook Allen's hand.

"I'm Marshall, the second in command. If our buddy Grymm here's busy, just come find me."

"Of course. I, myself, am Sir Allen Schezar, Knight Caeli of Asturia." Grymm raised an eyebrow in approval.

"Ah! One of the renowned Heavenly Knights." He smiled. "You do look quite like an angel if I do say so myself." 

Allen reddened, but looked down, making his face hidden by his long hair. 

_'Is he flirting with me?' _the knight wondered. _'I wouldn't be thinking this way if Ahire and I hadn't-'_

"A veritable angel of justice I say!" continued Grymm. "We'll send those motherless bastards back to Zaibach! WON'T WE MEN?" 

With his words, a great cheer rose up from the crowd of soldiers gathered. Allen smiled half in relief and half in admiration. 

"Of course we will. I see that the soldiers are in good hands commander Grymm. Will you return to castle Fanelia to discuss our plan of action with the other commanders?" Grymm clapped his hand down onto Allen's shoulder.

"Why not stop by a tavern for a drink first, Angel?" Grymm winked at Allen as he pointed to a tavern down the street. "I have a feeling you've been working too hard." Allen paled but allowed himself to be guided towards the building by Grymm's strong hand. 

Not too far away, Ahire glowered. Over and over again he told himself: __

_'I am not jealous I am NOT jealous'_ Ahire watched as Grymm whispered something to Allen, and the two of them burst out laughing as they opened the door and entered the tavern. Ahire clenched his fists until his knuckles became furiously white. __

_'I- AM- **NOT- **JEALOUS!!'_

  
  


_****_

  
  


Dilandau sat alone in his tent once more. He had a look of devilish glee plastered onto his face, so much so, that the last person to come into his tent had turned around and walked right back out again. He sat at his new table, watching an hourglass. 

_'Ah... the time... it slips by... so... '_

_'-quickly! Through our fingers!'_

_'Ah, ah, yes... But much too slowly...'_

_'Too quickly! Much too quickly to comprehend!'_

_'Ah, ah, yes... But much slower... then we wish... almost...'_

_'Lightning slow!'_

_'Ah, ah, yes... lightning slow...'_

Dilandau growled and shoved the voices aside.

_'Damn.' _he thought to himself. _'Now that Strategos is gone, They're back.'_

Folken's presence itself and medication he'd made for Dilandau had made a powerful combination to ward the voices in the warlord's head, but now that Folken and his medication were gone, They had returned.

_'Ah, so Dilandau, are you prepared?'_

_'Prepared to last the war?'_

_'Ah... yes, the war. But are you prepared for the lightning slowness of time?'_

"SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS VOICES!!" Dilandau drew is sword and brought it down on the hourglass with such force it exploded in a shower of fine white sand. He sat down, breathing hard, and trying to control his temper.

_'Ah… yes. He's not aware, is he?'_

_'No. Not aware. The idiot.'_

_'Ah… ah, no. Let's not be... rude. He is... unobservant...'_

This caught the general's attention.

"Not aware of what?"

_'Ah, see? He can be... polite.'_

_'Polite for a veritable bastard.'_

Dilandau scowled. "Please tell me."

_'Ah, boy… Think... think... You were talking to... Taiahna on your horse ride here. She proved herself... a woman by... announcing to you several... medical facts you found quite... disturbing..._'

Dilandau thought back to the horse ride.

"Oh yeah..." The second voice spoke.

_'Then think hard you idiot! When was it exactly you screwed her silly?'_

The silver-haired warlord found himself finally putting two and two together.

"Wait! So if she had her... then, and I screwed, I mean slept with her that many days later, then it's extremely possible that..." A slow, devious smile crept across his face. "Hmm. Perhaps I won't kill her after all. It might be nice to have an heir..."

_'Ah, ah! Not so... worthless are we... now, yes?'_

_'If anything at all, he's the worthless one.'_

"SHUT UP!"

  
  


****

  
  


Allen and Grymm sat at the bar of the noisy tavern. Bar maids waltzed back and forth, evading the wandering hands of their customers. By this point, Allen had drank more then he ever had in his life, which was still not saying much, but enough to have rendered him completely and totally inebriated.

Allen drained another mug and grinned over at Grymm. The green-eyed commander had had no idea that Allen became drunk this easily, but wasn't necessarily worried at all. As long as they were both having a good time, and Allen didn't attack anybody, the commander was quite enjoying it.

"Another round Angel?" Allen frowned deeply, as though thinking very hard, and then broke out into a broad smile.

"Why not, eh?" slurred the blonde, "Can't be doing me too much inju- injur-" Allen frowned again, then finished his sentence as though it was a revelation, "...bad. Can't me doing me bad!"

Grymm laughed and slapped Allen on the back. 

"Of course not. Excuse me! Another round over here!" Allen stood up to catch the woman's attention, but tripped over his stool and landed on Grymm taking him down as well. Grymm raised an eyebrow at Allen who looked up at the bar from the ground as though it was an alien landscape.

"On second thought," began the raven-haired man, "maybe not." He helped Allen up and pulled one of the knight's arms over his shoulder to support him. "You need rest Angel, though you're going to hate me in the morning." Allen hiccupped loudly and laughed.

"Why?" asked in Allen offhandedly. Grymm fingered his beard and frowned.

"Oh you'll see soon enough."

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi sat on Van's bed where she'd been sitting all day, but this time Charles sat with her.

"What time is it Hitomi?" asked Charles nervously. Hitomi glanced at her digital watch.

"It's still 11:59."

"Still?"

"Yes Charles, still." replied Hitomi, on edge as well.

"Oh."

As Hitomi stared forlornly at the balcony, an unexpected breeze blew into the room. Hitomi blinked, and in the place of the empty space, there was a faded-out version of Van. Hitomi smiled immediately.

"Hello Van."

_'I don't have much time. We should begin the ritual right away.' _Hitomi nodded in her regular determined fashion and pushed her bangs off her forehead. She pushed the bed to side of the room to make space for Van and Charles to lie as Van sealed the room with magic so that what went on in it couldn't be heard elsewhere. Charles lay down first, smiling up uncertainly at his older brother. Van smiled back and waved a translucent hand over his eyes. The boy fell into a deep sleep. 

"How did you do that?!" asked Hitomi incredulously.

_'Just one of the advantages of passing on._'

Van lay in front of Charles so that the top of his head was about half a foot away from touching his sibling's. Hitomi took a piece of chalk from her pocket and drew a figure eight around them; the sign for infinite.

_'Now, the chant.'_

Hitomi knelt in front of the brothers and places a hand hovering just above each of their foreheads. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began the incantation:

  
  


"Past and Present, two is one,

__Be ye the moon, or shining sun.

__Past and Present form a whole,

__Let darkness join ye to one soul.

__Past and Present, spirits link,

__Two inside with one to think.

__Past and Present become one,

__Like moonlit day and midnight sun. 

Past and Present be one soon,

Ye shall return upon next's moon."

  
  


A winged form took flight abruptly, so bright Hitomi could barely look at it, from Charles's body and flew out the window with an eerie scream. 

"Something's gone wrong!" cried Hitomi in fright. 

Suddenly, Van's shade was gone.

"NO! Van!!" Charles body rose parallel to the ground. Hitomi had to turn away as it glowed with white light, threatening to blind her. Hitomi could not see what was going on, but she heard the grinding of bones extending and the squelch of viscera being shifted as the body grew and changed. As the light died sharply away, a scream of pain so intense that it seemed unhuman ripped through the room. Hitomi curled into a ball and wept, sure she had killed them both. 

"Van..." she whispered to herself, "I've killed him for sure... Van, I killed you..." 

A strong hand stroked Hitomi's hair with surprising gentleness.

"Hitomi, I-" The speaker broke off into quiet sobs. Hitomi turned around to see Van sitting on the ground behind her. Her trembling hand reached out hesitantly to see if he was real. Van took her hand in his own and cradled it to his face.

"I don't think I ever told you Hitomi." he whispered as silent tears ran down his pale cheeks. 

"I don't thing I ever told you that I love you." He kissed the palm of her hand lightly, and then lifted Hitomi carefully into his lap and stroked her hair. "I had to tell you. You mean so much-"

"I knew all along Van. I knew you cared. I just knew it." Van bent closer to his love to kiss her for the first time. The way their tongues entwined and danced was as if all that they had lived for was that moment, that kiss, that confession of love, finally admitted. 

Hitomi broke the kiss unexpectedly. 

"Van, something went wrong." Van nodded wordlessly.

"His soul is in purgatory." Hitomi gasped as the concept of Charles in that place of torment hit her. "We can still call him back upon the next full moon, but he may never be the same again." Van's eyes closed slowly, and his head came to rest on top of Hitomi's. She listened as his heartbeat and breathing slowed and he fell into a much needed slumber. Hitomi snuggled in closer to Van and closed her eyes as well.

"Oh Van, I wish we could be together forever..."

The word 'forever' echoed through the room as Hitomi's pendant on the bedside table began to glow a dim red, and then fade back to pink. 

  
  


****

  
  


"Three days left." Dilandau whispered to himself in glee as he awoke with the dawn.__

_'Dilandau...'_

_'Oh Dilandau...'_

_'You may be interested in this one.'_

_'Ah yes, very interested.'_

"What is it?" he whispered viciously at the voices.

_'You'll never guess who's back.' _Dilandau frowned angrily. How could they know anyway? Folken had once explained it to him. The voices were two sorcerers of the past who had been murdered by one of their creations. They antagonized Dilandau for revenge that was not really even owed him.__

"Enough with the damn riddles. What do you mean?" 

Dilandau heard an unearthly laugh, that resembled his own, before the voices faded into nothing.

"Useless sorcerers." Dilandau muttered as he dressed, but he wondered if what they said had any truth to it in reality.

  
  


****

  
  


Rays of molten sunlight burned through Allen's eyelids. He opened his eyes, but realizing his mistake too late, quickly squeezed them closed again. Spots of light danced on his eyelids, hammering shocks of pain like nails being hammered into his head.

"Ow." He whispered to himself. A high-pitched buzzing quickly filled the inside of his skull like a million mosquitoes flying around, their tiny wings battering his brain.

But the worst shock of all came when Allen realized he couldn't remember where he'd been the night before. Allen cautiously opened one eye, then the other. He was in a room, but not his own.

Something suddenly came back to him,

  
  


___~"Why not stop by a tavern for a drink first, Angel?"~_

  
  


Allen groaned. 

_'What was I thinking? I get drunk so easily…' _

But whose bed was he in? Allen forgot to care long enough to drift back into sleep.

  
  


_~ "Oh Allen…" Milerna waltzed over to Allen with a bundle of blankets in her arms._

_"Milerna?! What are you doing here?"_

_"Allen! Oh look Allen!" Milerna held out the bundle._

_Allen leaned over to see the blanketed form. It was an infant with blue eyes and blonde hair._

_"Oh no… Not again…" _

_"I'll call him Chid II!"_

_"OH NO!!" cried Allen in alarm. _

_"Isn't it like a dream Allen?" Allen stared, but didn't reply. Milerna poked Allen in the chest._

_"Angel! Are you awake?" ~_

  
  


Grymm poked Allen again.

"Hey Angel, are you-" Allen sat straight up so fast his forehead hit Grymm's with a loud bonk.

"Ow!" cried Grymm, rubbing his forehead. "Watch it!" Allen held his head in pain, but then saw Grymm leaning over him and paled. 

"Oh no. No, no! This is not right!" The shady haired man laughed.

"What Allen, don't you remember last night? We had a ball my friend. I got you extremely drunk, and then brought you back here." Allen paled even more. Grymm laughed in amusement at Allen's fright. 

"Don't worry Angel, nothing of that sort happened. Besides, if it had, you would have remembered it for sure. Not that I didn't have a hard time from keeping myself from taking advantage of you, I just didn't know how you'd react to that sort of thing." Grymm winked at Allen. "Get yourself dressed. We've got a war to plan." Allen paled further as Grymm left the room.

"Was… was he serious…?"

  
  


****

  
  


There we have our chapter 13 ^.^ 

Do YOU think he's serious? BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Hmm... Do you guys want a sequel? I've got one planned IF you want one, but hey, I'm not gonna go outta my way if you guys don't want it!!

SOOO... Review away!

See ya soon.

  
  


~Planeswalker

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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	14. Visions of a Future Past

Hey people, here is chapter 14!

There aren't too many after this

Two or three at the most

Dun dun dun!! So enjoy while you can!!

  
  


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Van and Hitomi lay curled into their other half until dawn broke. Allen, who was practically screaming bloody murder and looking extremely flustered, awoke them suddenly.

"Hitomi! It's an emergency! I need advice! Right- " he broke off as he saw whose lap she was lying in.

"Wh- what?! Van?!" Van groaned, and wiped sleep out of his eyes. Hitomi stood slowly and helped Van up after her. Van turned to the Asturian knight.

"Yes, Allen. It's me. Is there anything specific you wanted?" Allen's jaw hung low as he gaped openly at the risen King.

"B- but Van! You're you're dead!! Oh my Hitomi had said something, but I just didn't believe it!!" Van sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Obviously not. It's quite a long story Allen. I'll tell you about it sometime." He spat sarcastically. "Now close your mouth and stop gawking, before something flies in, and you choke on it." Allen pulled himself together and bristled at the insult.

"What are you so bad humoured about? You've seemingly just returned from the dead. I say you shouldn't have anything to complain about."

"Is time alone with Hitomi too much to ask for?" Allen, still flustered and quite confused, heaved a sigh, and nodded.

"I'll leave you two be then. But keep in mind, and I'm assuming you know, that we have a war to plan." Allen left, shutting the door behind him, and grinning from ear to ear.

"Now we can't lose!" he whispered to himself as he walked smartly down the empty hall.

Hitomi burst out laughing after Allen had left the room.

"Van!" she gasped between giggles. "That was horrible!" she cried, her face turning stern. "That wasn't funny at all!" She announced, but in the end was betrayed by another fit of hysterics. Van smiled at her, enjoying the sound of her laugh.

'It's amazing how much I missed hearing that laugh.' He thought to himself solemnly.

"Oh come on Van, get that serious look off your face." Van pulled his way back from his thoughts and listened to Hitomi.

"Why on Earth, or well, Gaea, did you do that Van?" The King smiled slowly and walked closer to Hitomi to kiss her hand gently. 

"Remember what I asked you to consider Hitomi?" Hitomi blushed a deep shade of red and blinked furiously.

"Well- I, um" Van interrupted her with an ardent kiss that sent tingles down he spine.

"Well?" asked Van, his old childish impatience showing. "Did you decide?"

"I was thinking of"

"Yes?"

"Of maybe saying"

"Mmmhmm?"

"Will you stop interrupting me!" Van sighed. 

"Alright."

"I was thinking of saying, well, yes."

Van's heart skipped a beat. He kissed Hitomi again, and smiled.

"I promise, you won't regret it. Trust me." 

"I do Van. That's why I'm saying yes."

Van swept his true love off her feet and carried her to the bed where she had waited for him so loyally and so long.

'I trust you Van, with everything, my life, my heart, my soul.' Hitomi giggled at the thought that occurred to her.

'My virginity'

  
  


**** 

  
  


"TWO DAYS!!" cried Dilandau in elation as he burst through the folds of his tent out into the very first rays of morning sunlight. "MOVE IT!"

The army seemed to groan collectively as they began to pack up for the march.

Miguel yawned loudly and rolled out of his cot onto the ground with a hard thud.

"For the love of the Creator. I never thought a forced march could be this forced"

  
  


****

  
  


The shock of Van's return was now wearing off for Allen, and the anxiety had returned.

"Who am I going talk to?" Allen whispered to himself in near-fright. He sat down on a bench in the courtyard flower garden, and moaned. 

As if an answer to his prayers, his sister wandered by. Allen leapt up and snatched her by the sleeve.

"Taiahna! Just the person I was looking for! Please! You've got to help me!" Taiahna frowned quizzically up at her older brother.

"What's going on Allen?" she asked slowly, slightly confused.

"It all started last night, when Grymm took me out to the bar, and I don't remember a thing, and I woke up in his bed! But I can't talk to Ahire, because he'll be jealous!" Allen realized his mistake belatedly, and he covered his mouth with a white-gloved hand.

Taiahna's eyebrows shot up and she froze, not quite understanding what Allen had said.

"So you're not sure if you-" Taiahna swallowed noisily. "You're not sure if you slept with him. But why would Ahire be...?"

Taiahna remembered the morning after she'd been rescued. She threw Allen's arm off her own.

"Why you- you liar!!" she screamed. Allen blanched.

"What?"

"What was it Ahire said that morning? 'Don't worry, I wasn't doing anything to your brother'?! You lying bastard!! You slept with him!" Taiahna realized something else.

"How dare you criticize ME, when you slept with another man, and you're not sure if you've slept with a second!!" Taiahna raised an open hand to slap Allen, but then lowered it slowly. Allen sighed with relief, but much too early, because the open palm came back as a fist that struck Allen cleanly in the right eye. 

"Don't you dare bring up Dilandau ever again! Do you hear me? EVER!" Taiahna turned on her heel, and walked furiously away. 

"Ow..." whispered Allen as he cradled his face. "That was stupid"

  
  


**** 

  
  


Charles awoke slowly, his head filled with fog.

"Where am I?" he wondered to himself as his eyes fluttered open. He slowly began to remember what had happened.

A bright colourful landscape surrounded Charles, but he knew immediately that something had gone wrong, because he could not see through Van's eyes the way he was supposed to. He was gone from Van's body.

"Am I dead?" he squeaked, examining his surrounding.

"No." A voice answered. Charles swung around to see a man with soft teal hair that fell into his smiling eyes. 

"Who are you? How do you know I'm not dead?" The man smiled.

"My name is Folken Fanel." Charles gaped in surprise.

"I have another brother? But, are you dead too?" Folken nodded sadly.

"Yes, I've passed on as well. As well as Van I mean, you're not dead yet."

"Then where am I?" Folken looked sombre.

"You're in Purgatory. It means your soul can still go back to your body, but you have to last out a month, or else there's no going back, ever."

Charles looked around at the welcoming place.

"But what could go wrong here? It's beautiful!"

"That's just it Charles, it's hard to believe anything can go wrong here. You're going to be tempted, probably several times, by the Keeper himself. Whatever you do, I beg you, don't listen to him. He can appear in any form, at any time, but he can't take you away unless you agree to go with him. Please be careful little brother."

Charles nodded, a miniature version of his other brother.

"I promise you I will." Folken affectionately ruffled Charles' hair.

"I have to go now, so take care. Remember, he can appear anytime. Just be on your guard. I won't be coming back, so if I appear here again, it's not really me, keep that in mind."

Folken turned to go, but Charles grabbed him by the hand.

"Wait! Folken, I mean, I want to believe you, but after what you've told me, I think I need proof it's really you. So do you, um, do you have them too?"

Folken looked at his brother quizzically.

"Have what?"

Charles looked around cautiously from habit, but then realized it didn't really matter anymore.

"Do you have wings too? Can you show me them?"

Folken realized something suddenly.

"That's the other thing I need to warn you about. A long time ago, the Keeper convinced me to give up my wings in return for my life. The truth is, a Draconian's wings are their soul."

Charles looked slightly depressed.

"Oh, so you can't show me your wings then."

Folken smiled warmly.

"The Creator blessed me with new wings when I repented." 

Folken removed his blue shirt, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. His wings exploded suddenly from his back in a burst of white feathers. Charles looked up shyly at his older brother.

"They're beautiful brother." Charles looked abjectly at the dirt. "I'm sure mine are still small. I've never even flown before because I wasn't aloud to show my wings to anyone at the manor." The older brother looked surprised.

"Well why don't you give it a try? I'll show you how if you like. I guess I could stay with you a little longer."

Charles grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh really? Thank-you brother!"

Charles threw his shirt on the ground next to Folken's and concentrated hard. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. His wings burst from his back as suddenly as his brother's. The extra weight threw him off-balance and he fell backwards with a painful thud. Folken smiled and helped his brother up.

"Don't worry, you'll be flying in no time."

  
  


****

  
  


Allen had finally made up his mind. 

"That's it!" he cried. "I can't stand it anymore! I need advice!"

Allen ran to Ahire's tent and burst inside.

"Ahire! I need advice! I mean, I really, really, really need advice!"

The thief sat glowering in the corner of the room.

"Why hello, Schezar. Nice to see you've come crawling back."

"Wh-what?" Allen groaned. "Not you too- I mean, Taiahna's already given me a black eye."

Ahire snorted disdainfully.

"Yes, I can see that. She did quite a good job if I do say so myself."

Allen brushed aside the rude comment.

"Please, I need your advice."

"Fine. Here's what I have to say. Go talk to Grymm."

"How do you know what I was going to say?!"

Ahire rolled his eyes.

"I saw you go into the bar last night, and I saw you come out hanging off of him. What else is there to know? Did you sleep with him Allen?" 

Allen swallowed, and looked away.

"I, um, I don't know exactly. You see, I don't remember anything"

Ahire sighed.

"You can't be serious."

"Unfortunately, I am. And he says nothing happened but I'm still not sure."

"Then go ask him. That's the obvious thing to do, Allen."

Allen glared at Ahire.

"That would... that would defeat the purpose!" he insisted.

"For Creator's sake. Get your sorry arse over there. Just get out of my sight."

Allen sighed in frustration, but complied.

Ahire burst out laughing after Allen had left.

'That poor man thinks I have feelings for him. Oh Creator, he's about to be horribly disappointed.'

  
  


****

  
  


"Hitomi" whispered Van impatiently. "Hitomi" Finally his impatience got the better of him. "Hitomi! Wake up!!"

Hitomi sat straight up in bed and scrambled for the blankets to cover herself. Van sat next to her, eagerly awaiting her awakening. She glared dangerously at him.

"Van! What did you do that- fmmf!" Van cut Hitomi off with a kiss. 

"We're wasting the day Hitomi! It's almost noon!" Hitomi's eyebrow rose. 

"So what do you propose we do with the rest of the day then?" Van grinned at Hitomi.

"You can't be serious." Van moved behind Hitomi, and began to massage her shoulders. He leaned in close and kissed her cheek softly.

"I am completely serious." He purred.

Hitomi rolled her eyes, then sighed, and leaned back onto Van's warm bare chest.

"Is that all you think about Lord Van?"

"Certainly, that is when I'm alone in a room with you, and neither of us are wearing any clothes."

"I'd be happy to oblige, after a short rest. This kind of exercise can really wear a person out." Hitomi closed her eyes, and snuggled closer to Van. "So Van, tell me, who was your first?" Hitomi asked innocently, eyes still closed. "I mean, I know it wasn't me. Even though I don't really have a lot of experience in this area, it's pretty obvious to me that you knew what you were doing."

Hitomi felt Van's back straighten, and he blushed a deep red.

"They didn't mean anything to me Hitomi. I thought I was never going to see you again! I mean, what I mean is, I was trying to fill the hole you left. I swear Hitomi, they-" 

Hitomi turned to face Van and rested a hand gently on his lips.

"I know Van." She whispered. She ran the hand slowly over his cheek, and down his neck, tracing his Adams apple with two fingers, making Van swallow hard, and the Adams apple bob gently. She looked up at Van with her deep olive eyes.

"I'm rested now." She whispered. 

Van smiled widely.

"I'm sure Allen understands. He'll take care of everything."

  
  


****

  
  
  
  


"Grymm? Are you in here?" Allen knocked on the door anxiously, hoping desperately that Grymm was there, for he'd searched everywhere else, and the Captain had been nowhere to be found. Allen knocked again, more loudly, hoping Grymm just hadn't heard him the first time. The door opened suddenly, and Grymm stood in the doorway, half dressed. It took Allen a minute to compose himself, because he'd just realized that he'd never really planned exactly what he was going to say once he'd found Grymm.

"Why hello Angel. Word's gotten to me by now of course. Don't worry yourself, I'm a very sarcastic person." Allen stood, and just stared, profoundly astonished, as a woman walked up behind Grymm and pulled impatiently on his muscular bare arm. 

Grymm smiled at her, and whispered for her to go wait for him.

"Listen Angel, it's just something you have to know about me." Grymm shrugged. "Some men simply aren't meant to be trusted. I happen to be one of them." The door slammed abruptly in Allen's face. Allen heaved a sigh of relief and left immediately for the War Room.

  
  


****

  
  


Van shook his morning lover gently awake.

"Hitomi, there's a problem." Van spoke softly, and meekly, as though something had gone horribly wrong, which indeed it had.

"What is it Van?" asked Hitomi, immediately sensing his distress.

"It's Charles, he won't come back."

Hitomi gasped.

"What do you mean Van? He has to come back!" Van shook his head sadly.

"But how do you know?"

"Before, I always felt a trace of his life force. Even though his soul wasn't here, there was always a feeling. It told me that even though I was there, it was still Charles's body. It left Hitomi. The last of his soul is gone. He didn't survive Purgatory." 

Hitomi felt suddenly numb. She remembered what she had wished when she'd been alone with Van. 

"Oh God." she whispered, a trembling hand rising to her mouth. "Oh God no... It's..." she swallowed, her whole body shaking as she slipped slowly into blackness. "It's... all my fault..."

Hitomi heard a soft cry of alarm from Van, and then was enveloped completely in dark.

  
  


****

  
  


'Oh yes.' He thought to himself, as he watched the brown-haired girl stir peacefully in her sleep. 'I've been waiting for one such as yourself for such a long time now.' He toyed with the surface of the mirror, dragging a finger across its liquid surface, leaving silver ripples in its wake. 'But how to make you come to me?' he wondered, probing the room for a possible was to access it. An evil sort of grin appeared on his face. 'Good job Van. Good job. The spell you're set to protect her is my passageway to your world.'

He laughed menacingly at the marvellous discovery that had almost gone unnoticed.

'Oh yes, I've been waiting'

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi awoke in darkness with a shock. 

"Van?" she asked weakly. "Van, where are you?"

She removed the damp cloth that covered her eyes and forehead to ease her fever and opened her eyes slowly to see that she was still in the room she had been in before.

"Where did he go?" she whispered to herself. She then remembered the war.

"Oh, he must be in the War Room. I'll join him."

Hitomi climbed out of the messy bed and picked up a soft baby blue dress with a white lace collar that Van had bought for her. She smiled at his thoughtfulness as she pulled on the beautiful garment. Hitomi heard a soft noise, and turned to see Van standing at the door.

"Van! There you are! I was just about to come see you!" Van walked over to Hitomi with the gravest of expressions on his face.

"Hitomi, you have to help Charles."

  
  


****

  
  


Van sat attentively in the War Room, listening carefully to several ideas for strategies to repel the coming Zaibach army. The strategies faded suddenly from his mind as he felt a slight disturbance in the spell he had left to protect Hitomi while he'd be gone. He stood abruptly, his chair falling over as he made a dash for the door.

"There's something wrong with Hitomi!" he cried, as he left the room.

Allen quickly took off after the king, excusing them both profusely.

Van ran as fast as he could up to his room. He pulled one of the double doors, but they wouldn't budge.

"Damn." He growled through gritted teeth and yanked viciously on the door several more times. Just as Allen ran around the corner, he threw off his shirt, and dived out the nearest window into the blood coloured, sun-stained sky. 

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi's face fell.

"But how can I possibly help him Van?"

Van walked slowly behind Hitomi and placed a hand on her shoulder, stroking her cheek softly with the other.

"You can go into Purgatory," he whispered, his freezing breath making her shiver. 

"And you can get him back."

  
  


****

  
  


Oooo! I like the Devil! Lol

Hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter.

So that's the end of this chapter!

Sorry it took so long to get it out.

Some if it was beyond my control! 

You guys all know how ff.net went nuts. 

Oh yeah, * sigh * one more thing

For all those people out there who didn't catch on, yes Dilandau thinks that Tai is pregnant. That's all I'm going to say! So cease the e-mails asking so! ^.^ 

Thankies again fellow fanfic-ers!

Love and mashed potatoes to all!

  
  


~Planeswalker

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	15. Keeper's Game

Blah blah blah.

Etc. etc. etc.

Here's chapter 15, Keeper's Game.

  
  


****

  
  


Van let loose a cry of rage as his brilliant white wings erupted from his back and he leapt through the open window. He flew up and over the castle to the other side, searching frantically for the familiar balcony of his room. He spotted the balcony, and tucking his wings to his body, he plummeted towards the open doors.

  
  


****

  
  


"But how Van?" whispered Hitomi, tears returning to her eyes at the thoughts of poor Charles all alone. She squirmed uncomfortably in Van's grasp. He was freezing cold to the touch, and his hands were clamped tight to her shoulders as thought they were trapping her. 

"Just let the incantation come to you." he instructed in a soft voice, a hand loosening its grip to toy with a stray strand of hair. "You have the power to make it work. Just let it happen. The feeling you put into the incantation will affect it so that it doesn't even really matter exactly what you're saying."

Hitomi took a deep breath in attempt to banish the nauseating feeling she had gnawing away at her soul. 

'Excellent. Now all I have to do is take control.'

The words came smoothly and calmly from Hitomi's lips as though she'd recited them a thousand times before. The words felt almost as if they weren't hers, and even if she'd tried to stop them, they would continue to pour out, uncontrolled:

  
  


"A land of death, a land of tears

Alone among the stars to weep

A place so dark, yet still so bright

A place for children's souls to keep

Alone with just the night, to weep."

  
  


Hitomi let go a clipped cry as Van's hands ran slowly down the length of her arms, leaving a trail of gooseflesh behind them. 

"Continue." He whispered into her neck, nipping at it gently.

  
  


"Alone to weep among the trees

Singing sadly with lark's sweet song

Lush forest deep with Hell to hide

Alone, alone, for oh so long

Sing softly, death, within the song."

  
  


Hitomi took another deep breath as Van's arms encircled her waist, his hands resting on her stomach. She could still feel the chill of his hands through the thin fabric of her dress.

  
  


"Until last angel dies alone

Waiting for last star to fall

Please let me reach him safely there

In Purgatory's empty hall

Creator, break my deadly fall."

  
  


Just as she thought the incantation was done, she felt a voice push its way past her lips that was indeed not her own.

  
  


"Creator take hold one my hands,

Take me to that forbidden land

That I may find Van's brother."

  
  


Tears began to well up in her eyes at the force of the last piece of the incantation. She squeezed her eyes shut and was forced to continue.

  
  


"Let Keeper take me in that land

That I may find Van's lonely brother,

Lost to this world, his lonely brother."

  
  


Her last words were a whisper, barely heard above the sudden wind that had invaded the room. She swore she could have heard a cry of her name in the distance, but before she could open her eyes, everything was gone.

  
  


**** 

  
  


Van flew headfirst into the windstorm taking place in his bedroom. In the centre of the windstorm he saw a tall man in a black robe with a deep cowl that hid his face.

The man was clinging tightly to a small, frail, windswept figure in a blue dress.

"Hitomi!" Van cried, his voice lost to the raging wind. The dark-haired angel reached out and just as he touched Hitomi, all three of them disappeared.

  
  


****

  
  


Allen sighed in frustration as he booted forlornly at the double doors once more. To his surprise, they swung silently in on their hinges. Allen proceeded cautiously and quietly, sword drawn. The room was empty. The knight shook his head and pushed his hair out of his worried blue eyes. The only sound of the room was the air softly ruffling Allen's sleeve as his arm fell back to his side.

"Now what?" he asked the abandoned room.

  
  


****

"I need blood." Dilandau whispered to himself, as he ran his tongue over the flat of the cold metal blade of his dagger. 

"I need" Dilandau rasped, staring blankly at the opposing wall.

"Blood"

'What you need, is medication.' Remarked a voice snidely.

"Yes I need pills. The ones Folken gave me."

'Ah... yes... I believe... you do...'

Dilandau ran a hand impatiently through his silver hair.

"I'm losing control. I won't be able to instruct the army properly. We can't all just follow Folken's plans anymore. I can't just go insane with bloodlust. I'm going to have to prepare for this." Dilandau sighed, and in a faraway voice added, "But I can feel it" his grip on the dagger loosened as it slid from his fingers and bit deep into the ground.

"I can feel it all slipping away"

  
  


****

  
  


Van opened his eyes and sat up painfully. He rubbed his bruised backside from the rough landing as he stood. He could see the landscape was drab and grey in every direction. 

He walked forward a few feet, and hit a wall. 

"Ow!" he cried in surprise, bending over and holding his face. "That hurt." He whimpered, rubbing his nose.

He extended his hand carefully. It was indeed an invisible wall. He walked slowly and carefully with his hand on it, and made a full round of the box he was contained in, but there were no openings. He held up an arm and jumped, striking a hard surface immediately. 

"Damn." He swore, realising the full potential of his predicament. He looked through the invisible wall to see a house, that was only about thirty feet away. 

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi looked around herself in a mixture of wonderment and shock.

She was in her family room. At least, it looked her family room, but she knew it couldn't have been. The books on the bookshelf were strewn on the floor, many with broken spines and missing pages. The paint was peeling off the dirt-streaked walls and the TV had fallen over, its screen broken. 

"Van? Van, where are we? This isn't right. This isn't right at all."

Van moaned. "I should have known. We're in Purgatory alright, your Purgatory."

Hitomi gasped, and swung around to look at Van.

"This is my Purgatory?"

"Yes." Van distractedly raked his fingers through his dark hair. "I'm sorry Hitomi, I should I have known, I really should have. Charles is gone, he's beyond our reach, there's no helping him. I'm so sorry."

The room began ageing quickly, getting more and more tattered by the second. Soon all that was left was a single ruined outer wall, even the red brick failing to look cheery in the state it was in. The rest of the landscape was barren and black.

Van held her closer as a silent offering of comfort. He was still freezing cold, but then, so was she, and so was everything in this godforsaken place.

"Oh God. Van he's gone. He's really gone, isn't he?"

'Just as I planned'

A sudden need struck her, unbidden.

"God, Van I need you. Just distract me. If I think about it any longer-" she paused, looking up into Van's soulful brown eyes with her olive tear-filled ones. "I'll go insane Van. I can't take it."

"Are you sure Hitomi?" Van asked softly, his gaze intense and unbroken.

Hitomi was about to change her mind when the need roiled in the pit of her stomach once more, commanding her.

"Yes Van." she replied, looking away, but pulling herself closer to him. "Please?" 

Van grinned evilly into Hitomi's neck and complied. 

  
  


****

  
  


The walls of the house disintegrated except for one, and Van could see Hitomi standing there, being willingly undressed by another man.

Van watched in horror behind the invisible wall. There was no doubt in his mind, that was Hitomi, impaled and pinned to the wall with her legs wrapped tight around the naked man. And the man, with the soft teal hair he could see even from a distance. It could only be one man

"My brother..." he whispered, his voice cracking, not wanting to believe it. 

"Why?" he yelled, pounding the unseen barrier. 

"Why?!" he sobbed, falling to the cold floor. 

"WHY!" he shrieked, as the demon of hate tore him apart. 

"Why...?" he whispered, as the two lovers climaxed, and wings black as night burst from his brother's back to surround the two lovers as they slid gratefully down the wall in an exhausted heap to the cold floor.

"Why?"

  
  


****

  
  


Hitomi, breathing hard, tried to ignore the icy temperature of her lover. Her vision swept his naked form.

'But his wings...'

The Keeper immediately sensed her alarm.

"What is it?"

"They're black!" Hitomi cried in shock, pulling herself from the Van's grasp.

  
  


****

  
  


Then Van realized something, something that probably saved his soul. There was a power emanating from his brother, a power that should not have existed.

Van let his sight relax, allowing his Magic-sight to come through. The image of Folken faded away to reveal an image of himself. 

'That's how...'

He let his sight relax further to reveal a man with long dark hair, and a pale complexion. He'd seen that man once before.

"The Keeper..." 

After such intense use of white magic in a place so full of dark magic, a headache hit Van so severe it forced him to the ground.

  
  


****

  
  


The Keeper laughed as he stood, unwrapping Hitomi from his wings. A cloud of black mist floated up from the ground to wrap itself around him in a dark robe.

"Van! What's wrong with you?" 

Hitomi was pulled slowly, and unwillingly to her feet by an invisible pair of hands. The black mist slowly surrounded her to clothe her in a dress made of fabric lighter than silk, and darker than night. It was sleeveless, with a neckline that veered sharply down, showing a lot more than Hitomi would have wished it to. 

Van's derisive grin slowly faded, as did his entire being. In his place was a man with eyes so dark they were nearly black, and hair the shade of midnight shadows; hanging loose to his shoulders.

"Oh Hitomi!" he sighed, imitating Van's voice perfectly, his hands clasped mockingly.

"Who- who are you?" she stammered, "Where's Van?"

He licked his lips slowly, and ran his tongue over his sharp canines.

"Does it really matter?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. He ran a freezing hand over Hitomi's pale cheek. "Do you even care for Van?" 

Hitomi backed away.

"Of course I do!" she spluttered in confusion. 

The Keeper chuckled in amusement, moving closer to her again.

"Then are you sure he cares for you?"

"Of course he does!" cried Hitomi indignantly. "Why else would we have-"

"Come now Hitomi, didn't you consider that a man like Van could have ulterior motives?" The Keeper rolled his eyes as though this was perfectly obvious. "Didn't you think that he could have destroyed Charles to have you? Don't you conside that he could have been only using you..." he leaned closer to her, and lowered his voice to a deep sensuous whisper, "...just for the sex?"

Hitomi didn't like the way the tone of his voice turned her stomach with want.

"I know he didn't hurt his brother! I know he wasn't using me!"

"Do you know this for a fact?"

Hitomi stared meekly at the ground.

"Well, no. But still! Van would never-"

"But you are not sure, are you? But what about the other women he has slept with? But, but, but, Hitomi. There's a lot of uncertainties, aren't there? Oh yes, there's one more thing. What would he say if he saw you just now?"

The Keeper directed her attention to her right. There was Van, on the ground, holding his head and shaking. He looked almost as though he was crying.

"Van!" 

Hitomi began to sob.

The Keeper merely smiled.

Hitomi watched as Van slowly rose to his feet and saw Hitomi. He began to pound an invisible barrier furiously.

"Oh no..." whispered Hitomi. "He's angry..." 

"Come with me Hitomi." tempted the Keeper, who was now suddenly behind Hitomi. "With your powers and mine combined, we can take the world of the living under our control."

"Why would I want to go with you?" she cried incredulously, on the border of hysteria.

"I'll destroy Zaibach, end the war. Besides,"spoke the Keeper smoothly and softly, his cold breath ruffling Hitomi's hair.

"Just look at him, he's furious. What will he do to you if he gets out of there?"

"I- I don't know." stammered Hitomi, momentarily uncertain. "He'll forgive me! I know he will! He saw me with, well, himself! He'll know I was tricked."

The Keeper laughed a chilling laugh that made the hairs rise of the back of Hitomi's neck.

"See, that's the thing." Hitomi blinked, and when her eyes opened, he was standing in front of her again, blocking her view of Van. "He didn't see me." He stroked her cheek gently, removing a tear with his thumb. "He saw his brother."

"What?! No! How could you do this?! I have no reason to go with you-" Hitomi crossed her arms, furious tears falling down her cheeks. "After what you did to me!" 

Hitomi took a swing at him, but the Keeper took hold of her hand and pulled her, none to gently, into his icy embrace.

"Oh come now." he purred into her neck. "I know what you were thinking. I think you enjoyed what I did to you quite a bit." Hitomi blushed angrily and tried to pull away, but the Keeper held tight. "I don't think so little one. You'll stay whether you wish it or not. I need your powers to break free of my prison."

A flash of light shone suddenly from Van's prison as it shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Van flew to Hitomi and managed to wrest her from the Keeper's grip in his surprise. Van circled high above the ground, looking for an escape.

"Oh Van, I'm so sorry. I- I didn't know!" 

Van breathed in the scent of Hitomi's hair as he whispered softly.

"I know Hitomi. I know."

"Oh God." she sobbed in relief. "Thank-you. Please, just take us home."

A warm light enveloped the angel and his lover.

The Keeper trembled in rage. 

A furious voice floated through Van's head.

'Now your brother will never find peace.' 

The tortured scream of a child sliced through the silence before Van and Hitomi finally disappeared. 

  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna saw a bright light burst from Van's window as she sat in the castle gardens. She ran for the room at full speed, her heart full of hope. 

As she burst through the double doors, she found Van and Hitomi lying on the ground. She quickly checked their pulses. 

"Alive." she laughed happily. "They're alive!"

She took off down the stairs in search of her brother.

"Allen! They're alive!" she yelled as she tackled her older brother to the ground.

"They're upstairs! In Van't room!"

The slightly dazed Allen took a minute to realize what his sister was saying. He jumped up, sending Taiahna flying.

"This is wonderful!" he cried in elation as he took off for the upstairs, his sister right behind him. He threw the double doors open only to blush furiously and walk back out again, closing the doors hurriedly behind him.

"Allen! What's your problem?"

"It's Hitomi." Allen whispered. "She not wearing anything."

Taiahna rolled her eyes, and pushed her way past her brother to knock on the door.

"Hitomi? Van? Are you awake?"

"Yes." They heard Van reply wearily.

Allen tapped Taiahna on the shoulder.

"Ask if Hitomi's decent."

Taiahna exhaled in frustration and smacked her brother.

"Why don't you!" 

"I'm dressed." laughed Hitomi in a tired voice. "If that's what you're arguing about."

The brother and sister walked into the room.

Van began his inquiries immediately.

"How much time has passed? How long until the army gets here? Are we prepared? Have they already come and gone? Will-"

"Slow down Van." Allen interrupted. "I'll answer as many questions as I can. No the army hasn't come and gone, the army arrives tomorrow afternoon at the earlier, yes we are prepared. I took the liberty of making sure the attack was to go on whether you returned or not."

"Tomorrow." Van sighed. "We face our destiny."

  
  


****

Dilandau couldn't sleep. He sat and stared intently into the flame of his candle. He imagined the flame growing, feeding off Fanelia.

"I'm coming Tai." he laughed to himself. "Tomorrow." 

His hand rose unconsciously, and stroked his scar, remembering the face of the other who now owned a scar identical.

"Tomorrow, you face me."

  
  


****

  
  


Thanks for waiting forever you guys. It's fanfiction.net's fault! Honest!

  
  


~Planeswalker


	16. Prelude To A Death

Okay, so it's not the war chapter…

It almost was… when I realised… you guys probably wouldn't mind a short chapter, 

AS LONG AS YOU FINALLY GET ONE!!

Sooo… next chapter I promise. 

I have a whole week off after exams.

Do not worry.

This means, there are only two left.

Yes, for real.

  
  


Disclaimer: I'm too tired to make an original/entertaining disclaimer, so just refer to my other chapters and laugh at their disclaimers.

I just realized how much the word 'refer' looks like the word 'reefer'.

haha

O.o

Don't do drugs. Drugs are bad.

  
  
  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna's night tortured her endlessly, denying her the sleep she needed, but her morning had flown by at the speed of light, leaving her slightly dazed, but focussed as ever.

One simple thought dwelled within her troubled mind. 

"He's coming." she whispered to the morning air, her breath freezing and floating away through the castle window.

"He is." a deep voice behind her answered. Taiahna swung around, back pressed firmly to the cold stone of the wall.

"It's just me Taiahna." 

She breathed a sign of relief and then bowed hurriedly to Van.

"I'm a little jumpy. Sorry. Good morning Lord Van."

"No need for formalities." replied Van, waving a hand brusquely as though actually shoving the formalities themselves away. "Please forgive me, but I'll just cut to the chase. Allen told me about your past, how can I put this delicately?" he mused to himself. "Your past... activities with Dilandau." Taiahna looked away in shame.

"Oh don't be embarrassed." he continued hurriedly, realizing his previous insensitivity. 

"Hmm." Taiahna mumbled, still mortified.

"I just need to know something." 

Taiahna stared intently at the ground.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" he commanded in frustration. "I'm sorry, okay?!" The King took a deep, calming breath.

"Are you going to kill him if you get the chance?" Van's eyes seemed to bore through her, pinning her to the wall.

Taiahna contemplated for a split-second.

"Yes, I'd kill him given the chance."

Van shook his head, almost sadly.

"I saw you hesitate. Please, I beg you Taiahna, don't hesitate to kill him. He certainly won't hesitate to kill you. Before she could answer, Van turned and began to walk away.

"And if I do hesitate?" she yelled after him. Van turned back to face her.

"Then I will be there to kill him. I'll kill him, and then I'll kill you. If you pause for so much as one second, you are a traitor to Fanelia." Before turning again, Van met Taiahna's gaze fiercely once more before he turned marched off down the hall.

  
  


****

  
  


Dilandau mounted his horse and gathered the reins of his powerful black charger. His anticipation seemed to make the air around him shiver and crackle with the sheer force of anticipation and pure pent-up energies inside him. His horse whinnied nervously at the agitation of his master.

He could see Fanelia on the horizon. "My dear Tai." He whispered to the air. "Today my blade will taste your blood." He grinned maniacally as his black-gloved hand rose to resume the familiar stroking of his scar. "And tonight…" A deep laugh bubbled unexpectedly from the back of his throat. The loud laugh resounded through the war camp, but the soldiers knew they dared not stop working in his presence. Their Lord was eager to leave. Dilandau simply ignored the puzzled and even frightened looks he was getting from his men. He looked towards Fanelia.

"Tonight I will taste you in your entirety." He laughed shortly at his own wit. His expressions lost their momentary wistfulness as he turned back to the task at hand.

"Let's GO!" he yelled in fury, drawing his sword and quickly decapitating a nearby idling foot soldier. The man's head flew off and rolled a few metres before coming to rest as the headless body wavered slightly, and then fell to the ground with a heavy thud. 

"Stop gawking and MOVE IT!" he roared. The army shuddered into motion once more, working quickly and efficiently.

The frozen expression of horror on the severed head just stared into the distance as a silent testament to the dire consequences of sloth in Lord Dilandau's army. 

Today, thought many of the men, Lord Dilandau had been generous.

  
  


****

  
  


She could feel it.

She could feel it and she knew it was coming. 

There was no denying the existence of her visions at this point.

She could feel it, she knew it was coming soon, and she knew it was going to be a powerful one. It would be a veritable titan of a vision with the raw elemental power to reduce a nation to smouldering ash. She could already feel its molten fingers wrapping around her head and its piercing claws digging into her skull as the waves if excruciating pain hit her one after another. 

Taiahna clutched her head and screamed as she sank to ground, hot tears streaming down her face. A high-pitched ringing noise rose in her ears as the world around her went white, and then black. When the vision fully enveloped her, she noticed how different it was from the others she'd had. Before, a vision was more like watching a play unfold before you. The people moved unevenly, even jarringly, like broken marionettes with snared strings and spindly frames, always protesting the acting out these oft' strange scenes. Now, it was like she was there, and everything moved as though time was being held firmly by the wings, unable to fly any further, every inch taken in unbelievable slowness. The world was muted, as though she were merely looking in from another room. 

  
  


~* Taiahna sees Dilandau standing there before her. His sword is drawn and raised, ready to strike. The expression on his face slowly shifts from one of maniacal glee to one of deep thought and resolute sadness. Dilandau He seems almost ready to turn away when Grymm comes running from behind, screaming soundless obscenities Taiahna hadn't heard often and invoking his patron god. The silver-haired warlord is taken by surprise. He barely has time to cry out before being decapitated by his green-eyed assailant. Taihana screams silently as Dilandau's blood splashes her face and his headless body falls frontward, shining blade still in hand. She feels the crunch of bones as the dead man's sword impales her through the heart. *~

The vision finally finished, and Taiahna fell the rest of the way to the floor, her weeping convulsive, and her breathing sporadic. 

"Why… me…?"

****

  
  


So there you have it people…

I have no excuses… Well, I do have one really long one, so if you absolutely have to know, e-mail me. Because I have no desire to type it all out and post it for the world to see. Yeah.

Next chapter coming soon!

I hope…!

  
  


~Planeswalker


	17. The Game Will Never End

Hey Hey...

This is the war chapter.

That's right, but um... it's not the second last one... nope... this is officially the THIRD last chapter. So... you get two more... and I'm nearly done the second last one seeing as it was going to a part of this one, but I got lazy, so yeah. 

  
  


To address certain concerns about our favourite bisexual (no not Dilandau _) Allen Schezar:

Yes, it all DOES have a purpose. 

Not only do certain of his situations allow for comic relief (^_^), they give Allen dimensions. Allen has just as many problems with things as do the rest of the characters. 

Because Allen has problems, don't you think that kind of demonstrates that Allen is a person? And I bet any people 'disturbed' by Allen's relationship problems wouldn't have been half as bothered if Ahire and Grymm had been women. 

And those same people were probably so involved in being disgusted with Allen, they didn't notice how the themes of his minor conflicts mirror those of his sister's major ones. 

If you caught on to that, it offers foreshadowing in one important case.

So, on with the story, and I hope I've cleared up any misunderstandings

P.S (to those still unconvinced): I can do what I want with Allen. He's my character in my story 

Well, 

  
  


Disclaimer: Not really. But I'm borrowing him. Borrowing Dilandau too. Taiahna's mine, Charles etc. see other disclaimers from other chapters and I'm sure you won't have much difficulty compiling a list.

  
  


**** 

  
  


It was time.

His heart beat faster as he began strapping on his armour. Armour the exact shade of the blood he so loved to shed.

It was time.

His pulse quickened as he stepped into the real world as though leaving a dream.

It was indefinitely time.

"Yes..." he whispered to himself as he buckled on his sword belt. "Yesss..." he hissed like a snake, standing alone in the centre of the empty tent. And he was in truth a snake; lean and sinuous, hypnotizing and beautiful. Beautiful and deadly.

Miguel entered the tent and the general's private reverie to stand at attention and report.

"Ready to move Sir." he barked.

Dilandau's eyes rose slowly to meet his ever-loyal inferior's. Miguel shifted uneasily as the gaze of the garnet eyes slid so slowly upward it was unnerving.

"It is time." he finally announced.

"I have taken the liberty of preparing your horse, Lord." reported Miguel, as still as a tin soldier.

Dilandau sat down on his cot and then stood once more and began to pace.

"At ease." commanded Dilandau gruffly. "We've known each other long enough, and I believe you are the prefect person to tell this to."

Miguel held back his puzzled gaze.

"May I ask what sir?"

Dilandau chuckled, amused by how his next sentence would sound out loud.

"What would be your first reaction if I told you that I was to be a father?"

There was no way Miguel could hold back his expression of utter shock. Of all the women Dilandau had slept with, there certainly couldn't have been too many survivors. Miguel supposed that Dilandau was already the father of a great deal of illegitimate children, but why would any of the women who actually survived the experience ever want to come back to Dilandau with that knowledge? For a moment, his heart leapt into his throat at this thought:

'Drae?? Please Creator, anyone but her... She's like a sister to me... I swear if that bastard-'

Dilandau laughed at the terrified and furious look on his 'slayer's face.

"No, it's not your 'sister'. Don't feel ashamed for any of the horrible thoughts that I'm sure are racing through your mind." The general spoke these words while narrowing his eyes at his Dragonslayer playfully.

For a moment, Miguel looked relieved, and then immediately ashamed for thinking such impudent thoughts about the man who had done everything for him. They may not have appeared to be such good friends now, but in their first lives, during training, they had been inseparable. That strong bond formed with all of his 'slayers had indeed lingered from his past life. 

It was clear to Miguel from the very start that Dilandau was one to be reckoned with. A wise man once said that it is better to be at the Keeper's right hand than in his path. Miguel had supported Dilandau's ascent to general one hundred percent, and when the general had been killed, he saw no alternative than to follow him to the grave. Dilandau may have been nearly dominated by the bloodlust now, but he still, and had always possessed a strong personality, and an aura of power that drew people to him like moths to the flame. Dilandau had saved Miguel's life more times than he could count in both lifetimes he'd lived, and the opposite was true as well. 

Miguel looked helplessly up at his general, openly admitting the knowledge that once again, like so many times on the battlefield, his mind had been perfectly read, and his next move had been known all along.

Instead of slipping into superiority as he did so often, Dilandau approached his 'slayer and clapped him gently on the back, causing Miguel to flinch. Dilandau shook his head and sighed.

"The mother is Taiahna, the little redhead."

'Twitchy thing, isn't he?'

At this, the general frowned, and continued in a more serious tone of voice, although he truly grinned inwardly.

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Why would I do such a thing?" he scoffed in reply to Miguel's question, slowly becoming irritated once more. "She may be the mother of my unborn child, but she's still the enemy, and dangerous all the same. She has incredible powers, and not even she understands them yet. I'm telling you this, because I want no one to harm her."

This statement caught Miguel completely off guard.

"Wh- what?" he managed to stammer in confusion. Dilandau shook his head in disdain, his humour slowly becoming less and less favourable.

'Incompetent soldier.' Dilandau powerfully backhanded Miguel to punctuate the thought.

"Don't interrupt." he growled, before smiling slightly at the blood that ran from the corner of Miguel's mouth. "If you see her, leave her. That is the message you are to relay to the troops."

Dilandau reached out with a gloved hand and carefully wiped the blood away from Miguel's face. He watched happily as it ran down his thumb to rest in the basin of his open palm.

"Her blood is mine to shed." he suddenly snarled, clenching the leather gloved hand into a fist with a nearly inaudible creak. "Now go!" 

As Miguel turned to leave the tent, he reflected that it was times like these that he seriously questioned his following Dilandau. He just had to keep telling himself that he'd followed the general for the man he'd been, not the monster that the Zaibach sorcerers had caused him to become.

  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna searched in vain for a familiar face. She had to tell someone about that vision. It didn't even matter who she told, as long as they could vouch for her after it had happened. 

"Anyone!" she cried in frustration. But the only answer was her own voice echoing back from the empty passage. She went back to her chambers to don the light armour her brother had given and her sword. 

Dilandau's sword really. She did have a bad habit of grabbing and going, and his sword had twice been stolen by her in a desperate rush to leave.

'Mine now. Not his.' She desperately wanted for no thing to remind her of him, and the fateful situations he drew her into.

'What if I don't fight?'

The thought struck her all at once. Millions of ideas came rushing from seemingly nowhere.

"That's right!" she cried aloud. "If I'm not out there, he can't kill me!"

A faint buzzing began in her head. "NO!" she shrieked in anger. "HE CAN'T KILL ME!"

The buzzing grew from a dull roar to a high-pitched shrieking of demons that rang in her ears.

"I will NOT give in to fate!" 

The sound of her own yells aggravated the ringing. Or was it the subject matter of her angry words?

Was it true? Could she defy fate? Or was Dilandau's sword destined to kill her?

"NO!" she sobbed, he throat already raw from the first vision she'd had. 

  
  


~*"Why didn't you kill me Tai? Why did you save me?!"

"I didn't save you. I saved myself."

"So you say, so you say. Just like you did it for Gaea? Right?" 

Chilling laughter. 

"Let's go."

"I won't go with you again. NEVER!"

A idea came to him from seemingly nowhere.

"Come with me and I'll stop the war."*~

  
  


"No…" she wept. Sitting on the ground, clutching her knees and rocking herself slightly. "No…"

No more ultimatums.

No more 'greater goods'.

"No more Dilandau…"

  
  


****

The sun came over the horizon that morning like a beacon. The Fanelian soldiers stood ready, and still as stone, waiting to come to life in the early morning rays. The light cloud cover seemed to burst into flame at the million shades of red that flowed from the slowly appearing burning orb of the sun rising into the sky. Horses and their riders shifted nervously, their cold breath spilling from their nostrils in small puffs as well as larger billowing waves of fog.

The stone sentinels still stood barely moving, shifting their weight occasionally. All around, the mutterings of prayers to the Creator could be heard, and the occasional one to the Keeper.

Grymm gritted his teeth, and made a quick supplication on one knee to the snake god he was named for. 

Taiahna wove through the crowds slowly, but determinedly, searching for her brother or Van. She had to tell someone about her vision. If she killed Grymm in battle, it would seem like she was not only hesitating to kill Dilandau, it would seem as though she was protecting him.

Van took a deep breath, and one last look at castle Fanelia. 

'If we fail here, we've failed you Fanelia. If I fail here, I've failed you Hitomi.'

  
  


****

Then the Zaibach soldiers mounted the crest of the last hill. 

Their numbers seemed unbelievable as they spread out their lines like a growing plague upon the green but frostbitten hills. 

The moment Taiahna spotted Dilandau at their head, dressed in his blood-red battle armour, she knew it was too late. 

There was a sudden electricity in the air. 

Nearly intangible, nearly non-existent, but truly there. 

There was something unprovable, like a soft but menacing wind, creating an incredible mounting anticipation. 

This was the feeling of the moment when all hopes were either reinforced, or lost completely. 

The charge was about to begin.

  
  


****

  
  


Before she knew what was happening, the Fanelians were beginning the charge on Zaibach. 

'Or is it the other way around? Does it matter?'

Taiahna stood as if frozen, among the swarming soldiers. She knew it was too late. In doing this, she would surely be condemning herself in the eyes of the only people she had left. But it was either that, or death. If she explained herself, wouldn't they understand?

'They have to understand...'

Soldiers continued to run past her, pushing and shoving. 

'Why are men so eager to meet Death?' 

She spotted Marshal, the cat man who was slicing his enemy mercilessly with long claw-like blades that were attached to bracers on his forearms. With a quick spinning blow, he cut two more Zaibach soldiers in half. He looked up to see her, and was momentarily distracted.

"What are you doing?" he cried to her over the din of swords and screams. "The only people out here that don't move are the dead." He smiled as warmly as was possible with his long canines, but then let out a frightening yowl as someone plunged a dagger into his arm. He shrieked again, in anger, and then turned on the man with his claws.

If this was fate, then why should she search for Dilandau? Wouldn't it make sense that he would have to come for her? He would be right in front of her, like the vision. Should she bother to wade into the melee? The Zaibach soldiers were beginning to mix into the Fanelians now, but no one had so much as given her a sideways glance.

'No... that's not true... they did... A quick glance at my hair, and they move on...'

Had there been a command issued? Or was fate just wrapping its ice-cold fingers around her once more? So should she search, or stay put? Maybe if she kept moving, she'd be able to avoid meeting Dilandau at all. But as long as she was on the battlefield it was really inevitable. 

But what if she did move? Did fate dictate all of that too? Did it even matter? Unless...

'Unless he's here but I can't see him...' Taiahna drew her sword, and swept the clash attentively with her deep brown eyes.

"Unless..." she whispered to herself, her voice drowned out by the sounds of combat. At a whim, she swung around to look behind her to see what she had been dreading all along. 

"Dilandau..."

  
  


***

  
  


He didn't have to hear her voice to know what she was saying. Looking down upon her from his dark stallion with an equally dark chuckle, he was ready to abandon the battle, taking her with him. 

'But no,' he reflected while surveying the bloodshed, 'this battle is so delicious, and it's been so long since the last good fight.' 

By this point it was far too late to pretend he hadn't seen her. He was about to ponder what to do, when a loud cry rose up from behind him. Another man was plunging toward him on horseback. Taiahna's high pitched scream confused the man in black for a brief moment as he was so rudely disarmed by the same girl who had produced the war cry. The man's green eyes flashed in anger and annoyance as he turned back to Dilandau and knocked the shocked warlord from his horse, going down with him. The two went down hard, and Dilandau's left arm was pinned underneath him with a sickening crunch.

'She disarmed him! But why?' 

The man drew a wickedly curved dagger and pressed it to Dilandau's neck, ready to draw blood. Red eyes smouldered in anger, and then in fear, when their owner found they could not fight back with one arm damaged so badly.

'It can't end like this...'

The world seemed to freeze, and all sound faded into a dull roar in the background. The man who thought he would welcome Death with open arms found himself dreading it as much as he had dreaded it that day the king of Fanelia went on his insane rampage in his Escaflowne. 

"Then let it happen!" he cried in anger and frustration, "But there's no way in the Keeper's realm I'm going to watch it!" 

Dilandau shut his eyes tight. Dilandau drew the breath he knew would ultimately be his last. Time continued to pass much too slowly. He drew another breath. Then another. 

Suddenly, a warm sticky liquid dripped onto his face, and into his mouth as he gasped for air. He opened his eyes to see he was being pinned by a decapitated corpse, whose head Taiahna was holding by the hair. The gaping maw of the neck was staring Dilandau in the face and still gushing blood. 

He sat up suddenly, and threw aside the body with his good arm, snarling in disgust. 

Disgusted at the body, but mostly at his own weakness. Dilandau's eyes, blood red in his boiling anger found Taiahna's slim and blood spattered form. Blood from the body had fallen into his eyes as well, and his tears had diluted it just enough so that his vision was red, but still hazy. 

His rage boiled over as he marched towards his one-time lover.

"So why didn't you let me die, hmm? Why didn't you let me die?! Why do you bother confusing me in this way? You turn me away, but then can't quite decide whether you're done with me or not!" Dilandau picked her up by the collar of her shirt. "Aren't you done toying yet?!"

Taiahna was taken aback.

'This isn't the way the vision went... Not at all..."

"I- I- was just saving my own life!" she stammered, still being held in midair.

"So you say!" he roared, lifting her so her face was even with his. "And so you said last time!"

"I had a vision! I even saw this! But... but it's all wrong..."

"All wrong, is it?" His eyes gleamed maliciously. "I'm willing to bet you didn't see this!" 

Dilandau nearly dropped her back on her feet, and then pulled her to him roughly. He then gently ran a finger up and down the line of her jaw, causing shivers to crawl their way up her spine. 

"Please... no..." she wept. "Don't... I have no feelings left for you... None... don't- don't confuse me again! The visions and the voices! They'll-!"

Dilandau help her held her head steadily to one side with a strong hand as he placed kisses on her neck. 

"I feel a vision... it's coming!"

The warlord finally grew impatient and silenced her protests with a deep kiss. Taiahna strained momentarily, but eventually went limp in his powerful grasp. 

Soldiers that passed gave momentary glaces to this odd spectacle unfolding in the middle of a war. Among the bodies of the dead and dying, two dirt streaked and blood covered people were completely ignoring their surroundings and losing themselves in a kiss that could result in death.

Dilandau broke the kiss with a sudden violence. He pulled Taiahna's chin upward so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.

"Don't you think I know that?" An silver eyebrow rose and a grin broke out unexpectedly upon the general's face. He casually played with a strand of her hair as he moved to kiss her again.

"Wait..." she whispered, nearly under her breath, "...wait..."

The general pulled away momentarily.

"And why should I do that? You toy with me, I toy with you. I think it's quite fair."

Taiahna's lower lip jutted out in a sigh of anger and a snarl of rage.

"You bastard!" she growled, "Do you think for one second that anyone could ever recover from what you've done to me! All I want to do is survive, but fate keeps throwing twists and turns I never could have expected. To you, this is all a game. To me, this is life and death!"

"If you want to play, that can be arranged. You can come with me."

"I won't go with you again! NEVER!" she punctuated her words by looking away.

A idea came to him from seemingly nowhere.

"Come with me and I'll stop the war."

Taiahna looked up suddenly, a gleam of hope in her eyes. 

"Would you really?" 

The warlord suddenly took on a diplomatic stance.

"This war is costing all the countries involved much more money than they have to spend. Your county has no reinforcements, true? On a rough count, my men found that we outnumber you nearly three to one."

She gasped in surprise. 'Is it really that many?'

"I see the shock on your face. Although those Fanelian longbows are putting a dent in our cavalry," he paused, "my cavalry, they couldn't possibly make the difference to save your army. So here's what you have to do: Come with me. Van would have no choice but to surrender if his little diviner was in my possession."

Taiahna looked at him with a suddenly maleficent expression.

"Do you honestly think I'd let that happen?"

She wound up, and kneed him in the groin with all of her might. But instead of what she expected, she found a sudden painful impact to her knee as it struck something solid.

Dilandau laughed momentarily as she attempted to nurse her pained knee.

"Do you honestly think I'd let that happen again? You remember last time, don't you?"

A look of terror suddenly crowded out the expression of pain on her face. How could she forget?

That day stained her memories as surely as the blood of that poor victim stained the grey cloth of his tent. So many feelings and emotions accompanied that day. So many unwanted experiences and sensations. All of her friends taken from her in one day, which had lead to all of her dignity being taken a few short weeks later. All because of one man. Taiahna's vision was beginning to blur, the first sign a vision was coming.

"I hate you!" Taiahna shrieked, not even sure how she meant it, or even if she meant it at all. "This is all a game to you! People are dying, and you don't care! Your own men die, and you still don't care! This isn't a game! Don't you understand that?!"

Dilandau stroked her dirt streaked cheek gently. 

"Of course it's a game..." he breathed into her neck, his lips gently brushing her skin. She drew in a sharp breath and attempted to fend off the encroaching vision, drawing closer with every touch. Struggling against his grip did nothing but cause her more pain.

"...but the game will never end Tai..."

The vision hit, and in a swirl of blackness, they were both enveloped by shadow and pulled into the depths of her mind and into the core of a power the warlord could not fully understand.

Taiahna's eyes rose to meet Dilandau's in the last seconds before the darkness closed in.

"My poor boy..." she whispered, "You don't know what you're playing with..."

  
  


**** 

  
  


Well there you have it people. 

Yes I was incredibly extremely slow. No, I do not have an excuse.

I bet you can't wait for the next chapter, 'Unending Maze' 

I had a brainwave recently, so it's gonna be awesome ^_^ 

The brainwave got me over my writer's block. 

Yippee!! See you soon!!

~Planeswalker


	18. Unending Maze

Aaaaaah fresh new page ^_^

I've always wanted to write that, cause I think it every time I start writing.

So, here's chapter 18, Unending Maze OF DOOM!!

Actually, I just added that 'of doom' part on a whim... ^^;

So enjoy!

Again, I'm sorry it took so long, I've been busy. 

Exams and competitions and camping. (Oh my! ^_^)

  
  


Disclaimer: What smart remark shall I make today? I own what I own, I don't what I don't. 

Well, I could end this now, but I thought that I should include that this guy was talking to me just now and he's asking about ff.net and he scares me DILANDAU PROTECT ME!!

****

  
  


Taiahna stood alone in the dark. It wasn't a deep dark, but a gloomy dark, that sunk into the marrow and contaminated the flesh. It wasn't an impenetrable dark, but a murky dark, that ate away at the soul. Though the darkness wasn't absolute, it was enough to hide definite surroundings, and it was enough to hide anything else that could be in those surroundings.

This wasn't a vision like Taiahna had ever had before. Not like the strange picture shows, and not even the feeling of acting out. This was as though she was in another place. Her senses were fully aware, and her brain was fully alert. This was more than a vision. It was another dimension.

"Hello?" she called softly, almost testing the air. "Is there anyone there?"

There was no answer. Not even an echo replied to her question. Taiahna slumped in dismay, and spotted a puddle by her feet about the length and width of a man's height. The water was so smooth in the windless place it could have been a mirror, carelessly placed on the ground and then forgotten. 

She crouched down to take a look. As she leaned over to examine it, a hand reached from the glass-like water and grabbed her by the wrist. The liquid did not react like water when its surface was broken. The silvery stuff slid back over the hand like quicksilver. Then the hand, with its iron grip, began to pull her back towards the 'water'. 

She struggled all the way, knowing instinctively whom that hand must belong to. Taiahna's feet slid from under her, but she still braced herself with them against the slick ground. The hand let go of her wrist suddenly, causing Taiahna to fall backwards onto a hard floor that could only be stone. But before she had the chance to fully scramble away, the hand returned, with its mate, this time to make a death grip on her ankles. There was suddenly nothing to grip, as she was pulled into the freezing puddle. The liquid slid over her, pressing and suffocating, sliding over her like a second oily, icy skin. She was quickly running out of air from her struggling. What would happen when she took a breath? 

But then as quickly as it happened, it was over, and she was spat out onto the hard stone floor once again. This room had considerably better lighting, coming from an unknown source. The area surrounding Taiahna was lit, but everything else was shrouded in the same opressive darkness. She scrambled to her feet, hoping that whoever had pulled her through that 'puddle' was not whom she had thought of. 

"I know you're in here!" she cried out defiantly, "So come out Dilandau! I know you're in here with me somewhere!" 

'-where-ere-ere-ere' echoed the room. 

"Damnit!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Where ARE you?!"

'Where-ARE-you ARE-you are-you-are-you'

Taiahna stomped her foot rather childishly and produced a long wordless shriek that eventually faded into silence as well.

'Maybe it's not him...' she thought suddenly to herself, ceasing to move and eyeing the shadows around her, 'Maybe it's... it's... the Keeper..."

She stopped her train of thought, and sat down slowly and deliberately, wincing slightly as a scraped hand from her unwelcome pull into the puddle touched the ground.

'Yeah, sure, that's it's.' she thought sarcastically. 'He's out to get me.'

But the conversation her and Hitomi had shared the night before still weighed heavily on her mind. The conversation had started with an odd topic; that Taiahna was actually Hitomi's aunt, but it had finished with a very import discussion involving the Keeper of Souls.

  
  


~* "Hitomi, will you tell me what happened?"

Hitomi took a deep breath, and tears shimmered in her olive eyes for what must have been the thousandth time.

"I- I don't know if I can."

Taiahna smiled gently at Hitomi.

"A wise woman once told me that a burden shared is a burden halved."*

Hitomi's tearful gaze rose to meet Taiahna's earnest one.

"I mean it Hitomi. Please, tell me?"

Hitomi finally managed a weak smile in return.

"Okay. I'll tell you..."

Hitomi then began summarizing the events that had lead to her arrival in Purgatory. A telltale pause at certain points in her story, and several unexplainable holes seemed to indicate that she was indeed leaving out some of the parts she would rather have not had happen at all.

She had to stop for a moment as she described the Keeper.

"He had pale skin, too pale to be natural, and his hair was black. Not greasy black, but long soft hair, and his eyes were- they were blacker than anything. He was terribly frightening, but it wasn't- Oh!" she moaned, suddenly bursting into tears again. "I can't believe what I did! I- I'd be better off dead!"

Taiahna took a firm hold of Hitomi's shoulders and shook her softly to get her attention. 

"That's not true, and you know it. You were tricked. Van was tricked. The Keeper is the one responsible here."

"He's so evil Taiahna. I didn't think such an evil existed... didn't think it could really exist."

There was a short silence between the two. Then Taiahna broke it with encouraging words.

"I believe you. I truly do."

Hitomi looked up at Taiahna with fresh tears glistening in her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

"Then listen to me. Listen carefully. He wants someone to help him escape the netherworlds. Whether willingly or by force, if you have that power, he will take you. If he should try to get to you, run. And for the love of God don't look into his eyes. They're not always so horribly black."

At this last remark, Taiahna was confused, but she nodded in understanding of the rest.

"I won't let him have me. Ever.*~ 

  
  


Taiahna stood up, and searched the darkness once more. She could not see beyond the circle of light that surrounded her. Should she venture into the shadow, or stay in the light? 

And what a philosophical question at that.

  
  


****

  
  


Death and confusion reigned on the field of battle. Allen wove his way through the melee, dodging arrows and killing Zaibach soldiers as he came across them. His head rang with the sounds of crashing metal and the moans and shrieks of the dying. His once proud uniform was ripped in various places, and stained with dirt as well as blood and sweat of his own and of those he had killed.

A boy with yellow-blonde hair suddenly burst into the area on a large chestnut warhorse and began cutting down Fanelians with such zeal, he could only have been one of the fabled Dragonslayers. It confused Allen greatly how they could still exist. Van had killed them all that day, and there hadn't been nearly enough time for Dilandau to rebuild an entourage of elite soldiers. 

"You!" cried Allen over the din. The Dragonslayer's burning blue eyes looked up. They starred out of his pale dirt- and blood-streaked face as though he were possessed. "That's right!" Allen yelled. "YOU!" 

The boy and his horse galloped over to Allen and swung ferociously at his head. Allen ducked beneath the blow in a single fluid motion, and unhorsed the boy with another. The Dragonslayer was on his feet seconds after he hit the ground, leaving Allen no spare time to manoeuvre. As the boy stood in front of Allen, preparing to charge, he made a realization.

"It's you!" he cried in shock, nearly dropping his sword in recognition of the face of the boy from the raid on the Vione so long ago. "You're that boy!"

Chesta smiled with a grin not too unlike that of his master's.

"Yes, I am." He replied quietly.

"But you're dead!" stammered Allen, visibly shaken.

"No," replied Chesta calmly, "You are."

  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna still sat alone in her little circle of light, contemplating. Exactly what she was contemplating, was confusing, and nearly impossible to explain. How do you describe the contemplation of contemplation? She was pondering something beyond that. A feeling of searching she had never felt before. She was able to examine her actions with a clarity that had been previously unattainable, and a feeling of incredible guilt was beginning to weigh upon her.

Suddenly, a voice cried out from the darkness.

"Taiahna!" 

The redhead leapt instantly to her feet, drawing her sword and looking madly about her.

"Taiahna!" the voice cried again, "Where are you?"

That voice... It was so unsettlingly familiar.

"Tai?" it asked uncertainly, "Tai, are you here?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and her blood ran cold in recognition. A feeling of guilt overwhelmed her, and at that moment she knew she had to hide. She couldn't face him. Not after this. 

She began to breathe faster as she realized the circle of light around her was growing. 

'Oh no!' she cried out mentally. 'I can't let him see me... Not after what I've done to him.'

A strong pang of guilt hit her, and the circle's diameter grew suddenly. Then she understood the link, 'The more guilty I feel, the more he can see me?'

But that wasn't quite it. It suddenly dawned on her how horrible it must be for him to be alone in the dark, and a bright beam of light leapt from the circle and through the blackness to join with another circle not too far away. The owner of the other circle first leapt at the trail of light, and then followed it. The other was near now, near enough to touch. Taiahna looked away from his adoring gaze. He gently tilted her head upwards so she was looking directly into his eyes.

There was no mistaking those eyes. Though now they carried a pain in them, and incredible burden that caused their usually bright colour to dim. 

"How- how can it be?" she stammered.

"It's possible." He whispered, gently caressing her face, "But not without a price."

"Please, tell me-" She replied, still hardly believing what she was seeing in front of her.

He looked hurt.

"Don't you have anything else to say? Can't you even speak my name?"

Taiahna took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. His calloused swordsman's hands slid gently from her face to her shoulders. She felt the hands slide over her shoulders, down her arms and around her back as he pulled her into a hug in his own strong arms against his well-muscled chest. 

She opened her eyes slowly, tears now brimming from the overwhelming waves of emotion hitting her now. They streamed silently, a testament to all that was slowly building inside of her.

She finally found the courage to lift her head from his chest, and look into his eyes.

Then she spoke:

"I- I don't love you the way you love me, Midori." She dropped her ashamed gaze and continued in a low whisper, "I never did."

He smiled sadly, sorrow gleaming clearly in his once bright green eyes.

"I know Tai, I know.

****

  
  


Well it's short, but gimme a break, I've been camping for a month.

Two more chapters left. 

That's it, that's all.

I may or may not have the next chapter uploaded next weekend when I come home. But I'll be gone again in August, so if I don't get it typed out before I leave again, worry not, I will be back eventually!

  
  


An incredible thank-you goes out to the people who still care! *sniff*

  
  


~Planeswalker


	19. Welcome To The Deep

*Looks really sheepish*

At least I wrote it...

Here's the excuse:

I wrote the last two chapters, they got erased, I got frustrated.

That's it. lol

For the more confusing section of this chapter (you'll know what I mean by confusing when you get there...) I've used several different symbols to denote different characters.

*This* is Midori's thoughts/memories etc.

~This~ is Taiahna

This is... The Keeper :D

and nothing around it is... the narrator... :) Enjoy!!!

  
  


****

  
  


"But how is this all possible?" Taiahna whispered, fear now oozing its way into her voice. "How is it possible that you're alive?"

Midori shook his head sadly as if she should already know the full truth of the matter. He then opened his mouth as if to begin an explanation, but closed it again upon a realization:

"It would be so much easier for me show you."

"Alright." Replied the redhead in a small voice, trying hard to keep the fear from sinking its fangs more fully into her already shaken self.

The green-eyed once-bodyguard, now trembling half-shade extended his right hand, motioning for Taiahna to place her own onto his open palm. She did so, hesitantly, and drew in her breath sharply at the moment of contact.

Nothing happened. 

Midori bit the corner of his lower lip and stared up at her as though in apology with his emerald-hued and tear-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, as his hand gently closed around hers.

Then, in an instant, millions of horrible images began to flash through her mind.

All through Midori's eyes...

* Strangled laughter 

"Th-then you had b-better run yourself through-"

A rattled breath, another voice:

"What?"*

~'Who is he talking to...?'~ 

A decent into darkness...

*'Don't let this be the end...'*

~'I'm so sorry...'~

A thousand faces...

*'Ohhh, his eyes... so...'*

~'…horribly black?'~

A multitude of voices...

"And now you will pay for your transgressions."

*'AhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'*

"Such a delicious scream..."

And flames, always flames...

*'Of course there is fire in Hades."*

But these were flames that did not burn; instead they caused the flesh to freeze from the inside out, and all of the body's heat and energy to be sapped away. It was as though his willingness to live had been leached from his very soul, and he could no longer bring himself to do anything but wallow in self-pity and melancholy thoughts of the darkness. Through this freezing fire, there suddenly broke a light;

*'A light! O Creator, deliver me!'*

"Such a feeble hope."

It was her. He cried out in the purest of agonies when he discovered his wrists were somehow chained to an invisible wall behind him. He sobbed her name, his voice full of the grief of centuries. She did nothing but sit benignly among the flames, looking at him ever so placidly through her blood-red hair, her hand extended toward him. As he reached out to her in vain, he remembered every time and place those hands had touched him. Like a china doll, hands pale as cream and softer than satin. The places she had run her hands down his bare chest seared as that fateful night came back to him. Then, the voices began...

"I don't LOVE you."

"I DON'T love you."

"I don't love YOU."

"Dear Creator!" Midori wept, "Make it STOP!" A deep laugh erupted from the flames. 

'That is, I suppose the root of your problem...' 

The laughter continued. 

'He cannot hear you'

And so with voices echoing off the inside of his skull, and everything he'd ever wanted, and he could never have sitting just out of his reach, Midori settled, sobbing, into eternity.

  
  


****

  
  


Chesta and Allen were in a momentary stalemate, both trying to force back the other's blade by brute force. It broke suddenly, as Chesta's right arm buckled, putting him off-balance and sending him to the mud. Chesta scrambled forward, reaching out for his sword, but shrieked in a mix of anger and horror as he discovered his right hand was gone. He reached out with his left hand, and the process was repeated. 

Allen kicked him over onto his back to take one last look at his face.

'No doubt about it,' he concluded mentally, 'He's definitely the one from the Vione, one of the ones Van killed!'

Chesta tried to push himself away, but the slick mud and bleeding stumps where his hands had once been prevented him from gaining more than a few inches.

"Impossible." muttered Allen. "No one could have survived what Van did to him." 

'Unless...' he thought, 'He didn't...'

The defeated 'slayer glared murderously up at Allen.

"Well!" he cried, "Finish me!"

The Knight Caeli was shocked. These 'slayers certainly didn't behave like humans. So young, yet so eager, impatient even, to go to their deaths.

"I'm very sorry boy." Allen apologized.

"I'm very sorry Milady."

Chesta smiled and laughed softly at the irony as he watched the blonde Knight's cold blade swing down.

  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna fell down, sobbing from the horrors she had just witnessed. She'd seen an eternity go by through Midori's eyes; an eon of the worst kinds of pain and suffering. He'd taken her into his mind, and suddenly she seemed to know all that he knew. Obscure bits of information, like the identity of the Keeper... Now there was an interesting story indeed. 

His true name was Amiro; the angel who had begged God to operate the judiciary system of souls so as to protect Gaea from reincarnated sinners. Though legend had placed him still doing so, in truth he had been corrupted by the very human souls he sought to reform and was now attempting to escape from his self-created prison.

"So now you know the whole truth." spoke Midori to Taiahna's small and quivering form. He sat down next to her and gently wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry if you're shaken by this, but I had to warn you of his intentions."

Taiahna looked up at him, her cheeks wet, her dark brown eyes filled with more tears, yet unshed. Midori stood up and then helped her off of the ground.

"Was it really so terrible?" she whispered, bitting her lower lip as though it would somehow dam the flow of her tears.

A look of utter helplessness overcame Midori's features.

"Don't you see Tai? I deserve that, and worse!" he suddenly pulled her into a suffocating hug, and then just as abruptly held her out at arms length, looking deeply into her confusion filled eyes before kissing her deeply. After they'd parted for air he whispered into her ear:

"I know you can stop him. I just know it!" 

Midori looked away as though someone had called his name.

"No, no!" he growled through gritted teeth, "I'm not ready yet..."

"Midori I don't understa-" began Taiahna, but she was cut off again by another kiss.

"Please forgive me." whispered the green-eyed man desperately, "Good bye Taiahna."

Midori pulled violently away from her, and fell to the ground whimpering. The shocked red-head backed away, her eyes wide with terror, though still dry, for she felt as though she had no tears left to cry. Midori's whimpering turned into a piercing cry, and finally soft laughter as he came to his feet. 

The man standing before Taiahna may have once been Midori, but was no longer. His black hair now fell down his back, and his features had changed drastically. He was taller, and infinitely paler and more muscular. But his eyes, an inky black and both fixed upon her, were perhaps the most unsettling of all.

"So horribly black..."

"No! It can't be!" Taiahna gasped, and stumbled back a few steps, trying to heed Hitomi's warning about looking into his eyes.

"Oh no!" The Keeper imitated with hands clasped in mock fear to mimic Taiahna. He laughed darkly as he walked with soundless steps toward her while adjusting his black robes with strangely fastidious precision. Taiahna continued to back up, until she found herself up against a wall she was sure had not existed before. She looked away from his face and up to see the wall extend to a domed ceiling shrouded in shadow. She looked back at the Keeper's mouth, which was grinning seductively, his unusually sharp incisors clearly visible. 

"I have a proposition for you Taiahna, a proposition you will find quite difficult to refuse." He ran a pale finger along her jawline, a blatant expression of lust clouding his marble features.

"You are even more beautiful in person than I had imagined." he cupped her chin and gently brought her face up to look into her eyes, which she promptly squeezed shut. "I desperately need you to help me escape."

Taiahna bit her lip in an attempt to not cry out or say something she would regret.

The Keeper dropped his hand. 

"Oh come now, enough with this childishness. Just look into my eyes. If I wanted you, you would be mine by now. My eyes have no extraordinary power."

"Why should I trust you?!" spoke Taiahna defiantly. "And why would you ask me to open my eyes if you could do it with your power? You're just trying to trick me into looking into those eyes to control me!"

The Keeper sighed in exasperation and waved his hands across her eyes which promptly snapped wide open. Taiahna found herself starring back into a pair of pitch black pools so dark, you could not tell the iris from the pupil. Once she decided she still possessed her free will, she carefully examined the rest of his aquiline features and gloried momentarily in his supernatural beauty.

The Keeper smiled insidiously at Taiahna.

"See? I just want to speak with you. I need you to help me free myself from Hades." his tone of voice then changed back to one of seduction, "I'd be willing to give you all you've ever wanted." he whispered into her neck, raking his teeth gently along it.

Taiahna pulled abruptly away and narrowed her eyes in already angry suspicion.

"How could you ever presume to know what I want?" she returned maliciously.

"Well," he began in a lazy voice, "There is the matter of my being able to read your mind."

The red-head's eyes opened wider in a strong sense of violation, before narrowing them again.

"Then show me." 

The Keeper pointed to the centre of the room and she walked around him to see a bed covered in decadent sheets and cushions made of the smoothest black silk, with a sort of canopy of black lace and hanging gauze. Someone in red silk stirred in sleep among the many pillows. The woman's back arched slightly as she stretched her arms above her head and then let them fall haphazardly back into the silken pillows. The Lord of Darkness then directed her attention to a second figure clad in red approaching the bed from the direction it was facing. She saw, to her absolute horror, that the one drawing nearer to the bed was none other than Dilandau himself. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath in preparation to yell warning to the pour soul asleep there, but the Keeper informed her that there was no point, because she could not hear them, nor them her, and so she shut her mouth slowly, though resignedly, and continued to watch the horrific scene unfold.

The silken-clad warlord reached the bed and climbed onto it, crawling in a slow cat-like manner over to the other's silken sleeping form. He laughed deeply in the back of his throat as he straddled the sleeper's legs over the sheets in a humorously familiar way as he lowered his mouth to hers. The sleeper jolted momentarily as she was so passionately awakened by the silver-haired boy, but his weight held her fast. Then, as though the woman was realizing who he was, she... 

'Is kissing him back?' thought Taiahna in confusion. 'But why? Doesn't she know who he is?'

The Keeper laughed suddenly.

"But that's just it." he replied to the red-head's concerned thoughts. "She does know." 

"But it makes no-!" The Keeper rudely cut off Taiahna's speech:

"Just watch in silence dear. You'll understand soon enough."

The crimson clad pair's lips parted reluctantly. Dilandau spoke seductively:

"Do you know what I want?"

"Why of course." The woman laughed, and kissed the warrior lightly on the cheek.

"You want the same thing I do." she whispered in a voice choked with lust as her warlord's fingers gently traced the contours of her lips. "And what I want..." she continued, "Is you..."

Dilandau chuckled again and kissed her deeply, forcing her to end her sentence prematurely.

He eventually pulled away in order to lean in and ask the woman another question;

"And how do you want me?" he whispered into her ear, his head then turning to kiss her neck. He smiled slyly before gently nipping at the soft skin of her shoulder while sliding a hand beneath the sheets to caress her most intimate parts.

She shuddered in ecstasy, her eyes heavily lidded, her warlord obviously diving her to the brink.

"I want you... all of you... Inside me..."

Taiahna's eyes suddenly opened wide in horror at a realization of her own.

"She's- she's me..."

  
  


****

  
  


Back at castle Fanelia, Hitomi sat on Van's bed, her eyes closed, concentrating. She knew it was far too risky too attempt a seeing of the future of the battle with her mind so clouded with desperate despair.

"Please," she whispered to the rose coloured pendant in hand, "Just let me see Van?"

The black in her mind's eye quavered as a scene of bloodshed and battle came into focus. Her view shifted back and forth until it caught sight of the young King. His eyes flashed anger as he was forced to withdraw from the melee momentarily to assess the damage to his troops. He whispered something profane as he realized that they were horribly outnumbered indeed. The Fanelian army dwindled, while the Zaibach army continued to pour over the hills. He must not let on that their situation was hopeless. The Fanelians would continue to fight valiantly if they did not see the full gravity of the situation. Van let loose a wild battle cry as he dove back into the battle. 

Hitomi pulled her consciousness away from the atrocities taking place on the field of battle and wept.

  
  


****

"You're surprised?" hissed the Keeper into the ear of the naive yet not so innocent Taiahna. He chuckled softly. "This was taken straight from your mind, it's one of your foremost fantasies..."

Taiahna turned to face the Keeper breathing heavily in confusion and anger.

"No..." she whispered, "There's no way... it's not possible-!" she was cut off as a strong wave of pain hit her. "I can't possibly feel for him... there's just- RNG-!" She was suddenly forced to her knees by the same waves of excruciating hurt, though now they had grown into an insistent stabbing between her eyes, giving her the acute sensation that something was trying to claw its way out of her skull. She clutched handfuls of her hair and shrieked in pain. 

The Keeper's immaculate brow furrowed.

"Please don't kill yourself dear." He laid a cool palm on the top of her head, and the pain left her as suddenly as it had appeared. She looked up at him in wonderment.

"But how...?"

The Lord of Darkness helped her up from where she had collapsed.

"It's simple; I momentarily cleared your conscience." 

Taiahna continued to regard the dark one with confusion. He sighed in exasperation as he pushed some of his jet-black hair away from his face.

"For every positive human emotion, there is an opposite negative emotion. Every human being has a particular facet on the positive and negative that they are partial to. This is rather unimportant to most people, but because your powers are an important part of your soul, altered by the various powers of Atlantis through the pendant, your representative emotion is a more integral part of you. In other words, your primary emotion, guilt, can make or break you darling." 

The Keeper smirked slightly at these words, and then continued with his explanation:

"Think of Hitomi; Her primary emotion was despair. Though she didn't know it, her despair in tandem with her 'seeing' was actually forcing things to happen that may not have otherwise. If you do not control your powers, you could do worse. You are much stronger than that girl."

Taiahna interrupted the Keeper:

"But isn't it a two-sided coin? Hitomi learned to have hope, and was eventually able to call happier futures into place."

"I suppose you could say that." he admitted grudgingly, "But you don't know the first thing about your powers. I could teach you how to use them, I could teach you to keep them from destroying you."

Taiahna mulled the situation over and even seemed to be considering his offer.

'So that's why I can't lie. The guilt is amplified by my power... If only I could define the opposite emotion of guilt. Freedom? No, that's not quite right...'

"Have you decided?" spoke the Keeper impatiently so as to cut off her train of thought. He didn't like where it was going...

'She's close, damn her. So close to figuring it out for herself. I should have kept my mouth shut.'

Taiahna looked at him suspiciously, trying to see deeper into his motives.

"I can't." she finally announced. "My conscience will not allow it."

The Keeper rolled his eyes as though unduly aggravated while pinching the bridge of his nose in a strangely human gesture. Could such a being even be afflicted with something so base as a headache? Or had he simply borrowed the gesture from one of the many human souls in Hades? 

"I was afraid it would come to this." he sighed. It is time I show you your full power."

Taiahna heard a soft clanking coming from the domed roof above them which quickly grew into a full-scale cacophony of metal scraping on rock. Taiahna backed into the wall once more in fear as a wailing began to arise as well. Such a moaning and shrieking of demons she had never heard. The Keeper took her by the wrist and began to drag her into the centre of the large room. She tried to resist, but found his grip unshakable and so dropped to her knees in defeat. The fallen angel Amiro then picked her up and carried her the remainder of the way.

"By the way," he added, his voice somehow carrying over the din as he deposited her on the ground, "It was ever so kind of you to allow your friend Midori to be killed. If not, I would never have been able to reach you." He kissed her gently, and added a small bite to her lip near the end to belie any feeling that could be mistaken for tenderness. "Now darling, look up." 

Taiahna squeezed her eyes shut once more, hiccoughing softly as tears once more found their way down her cheeks.

"No." she whispered, her voice quavering slightly. 

"NOW!" the Keeper roared, "I will NOT be disobeyed!"

Taiahna's eyes snapped suddenly open as her head was forced back by invisible means. What she saw was unthinkable:

Bodies. Hundreds of thousands of human bodies suspended from the domed ceiling all in varying stages of decomposition and decay, all shrieking and straining against their bonds. Taiahna was numb. She could find no words for what she was witnessing. 

She caught a small glimmer of gold from the corner of her eye. Something had fallen from that crumbling canopy of the damned. She walked over to the small golden thing and picked it up. It was a signet ring, embossed with the letter 'B'. Taiahna gasped in horror as she recognized the object. All expression left her face as her trembling hand tipped just enough for the ring to slide to the ground and hit with a small tinkling. Silent tears continued to stream.

The Keeper was suddenly behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"You do know it's all your fault."

Taiahna's breathing grew heavier.

"All my...?"

"Yes, all your fault. All of your friends, your city, your parents, Midori; they died because of you and you alone." The Keeper continued to speak bluntly and matter-of-factly. 

"It's can't be..." she whispered, only half believing herself. 

"Oh but it is. It most definitely is sweet one."

A bright light lit up the domed chamber and the corpses began screaming anew.

"And those," he proceeded, "Are all that you have and ever will murder."

The light grew stronger, a sign of the unbearable guilt building within the poor girl. Her breathing continued to grow more and more unsteady. 

She could finally stand it no more; she took a deep breath and screamed. 

For a moment her voice seemed one with the thousands of mouldering corpses around her, but the scream grew in volume until it pierced very fabric of the alternate world she existed in and echoed out onto the battlefield.

  
  


****

  
  


Van was facing off against yet another virtually faceless Zaibach soldier. Once he looked closer, he was sorry. His opponent's long gangly limbs and hairless face were a testament to his age. Van knew not to take the boy lightly though, for as sure as the child was no older than 15, his blade was drenched in the blood of his fallen enemies. 

A sudden anguish contorted the boy's features as a supernatural scream echoed from seemingly nowhere. Van backed away in confusion as his opponent began to convulse, dropping to his knees and holding his stomach. And then, as the boy looked up into Van's eyes with a final glimmer of innocence exploited, he simply exploded. Van shielded his eyes as the airborne entrails splattered on the ground and on his armour.

"What in Hades...?" he muttered as he stumbled on through slippery gore. He scrambled to the top of a small mound of bodies to get a better look at the surrounding terrain. It appeared this wasn't an isolated incident. All over the battlefield, there were soldiers screaming prior to suffering a similar fate. 

"Dear Creator," he whispered to the shriek-filled air, "we justly deserve your wrath."

  
  


****

  
  


Taiahna didn't need the Keeper to show her what was happening in the over-world, she could feel it. She experienced the death of each and every one of them in turn. Whether this was Amiro's doing, she knew not. She absorbed it all in shocked silence, on her knees, eyes wide and glassy, lips slightly parted, absorbing and bearing each death as though it were really her own. 

Then, a boy's voice spoke out:

"Taiahna."

She blinked several times, shaking off the trance, and beginning to regain awareness.

A young boy stood by her side. He looked so familiar, yet alien all at once. His hair was the shade of a raven's wing, his eyes a gentle brown. He smiled gently and placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Taiahna, it's me. It's Charles."

The redhead burst into tears of relief and pulled the boy into a tight hug as the Keeper looked on in disgust and disappointment.

"You've saved me again Charles." she confessed, tears once more spilling freely down her cheeks.

Charles then confided something in her. It had only been a secret to her up to this point.

The Keeper puzzled at his inability to hear the words that had passed between them.

"You!" Amiro yelled, commanding the boy's attention. "How did you get here?"

Charles simply smiled, and disappeared into a doorway of pure white light. Taiahna thought for a moment she had seen a man's figure beyond that door, extending a glowing hand. 

She then stood to face the Keeper, and announce to him what she had not known before.

"I am innocent."

Amiro's already pale skin grew ashen at her announcement. Taiahna continued:

"But you, are not. Once driven to protect, you were subverted by the very souls you thought to save." the girl began to glow the same white of the doorway that had appeared. "By decree of the Creator, I will return you to the way you were."

"No!" the Keeper cried, staggering away in fear in a way that seemed strangely human. "I'm so close to escape! So close to my freedom!"

The Keeper ran, but wherever he went, she followed, simply walking, never quickening her pace. 

Suddenly she was in front of him. His bare feet skidded to a halt not quite quick enough to avoid her reaching hands that took hold of him with superhuman strength. 

"By decree of the Creator Himself, I pronounce you reborn."

Amiro shrieked, and squirmed as though her hands were burning him. They were both enveloped in a warm light as the cleansing took place. The light and his screams peaked at the moment of completion, and Amiro emerged from the light a different being. He moved with the same liquid grace, but it was now akin to the movement of a dove, and not that of a snake. His skin had a subtle flush, and his hair was now a light brown. His eyes were a bright blue and he was now surrounded by a glow of his own; protection from what havoc future souls might attempt to wreak upon the gentle being.

Taiahna looked into the eyes of the practically newborn Amiro and smiled.

He thanked her with a nod, for he no longer knew any words in the human language, and descended back to whence he had come.

  
  


****

  
  


End Chapter 19

  
  


Well, I was going to just smoosh more in here, but this is getting ridiculously long. 

So the next chappy should be out... eventually. 

Again, I'll be grateful if I get a single review. lol

Thanks again,

  
  


~Planeswalker~

  
  
  
  



	20. Divergence

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda, don't own nada.

A/N: Don't kill me :) Please :) This is the last chapter my friends. I hope you all enjoy it and let others know that I've finished it. Those others who actually still care. -_-; eep... But finally my few remaining readers, I dedicate this chapter to you. You know who you are. If you've ever offered a word of encouragement or praise regarding this fic, thank you. I've grown a lot since I began this fic (it *was* written over quite a long period of time) and I hope maybe it inspired/entertained you at least momentarily. On to the final chapter:

Chapter 20: Divergence

  
  


****

  
  


A Fanelian soldier watched in shock and amazement as the glowing being clad in robes of immaculate white appeared above the battle field from seemingly nowhere. The fighting slowed and finally stopped. Even the Zaibach elite, with their precious leader nowhere to be seen, dropped their swords and jaws alike in utter astonishment as they spotted the gleaming goddess hovering above the body-strewn muck of war. When all eyes were upon her, she spoke in a voice firm and resonating with inner peace.

"All men standing here with noble intentions in their hearts shall be spared. All who feel they have committed no wrong by fighting this day shall be spared as well." her eyes narrows dangerously, "All who know they are breakers of peace and slaughterers of man for unjust reasons shall be dealt with accordingly if they do not flee the field immediately."

No one moved. No one had the courage to.

A most godly eyebrow was raised.

"Well? Leave!" her voice boomed in righteous indignation. 

Zaibach soldiers began scattering like as ants in a rainstorm. Some however, did not leave. The brilliant being raised her hands high above her head and proclaimed.

"Those of you who know in your heart of hearts you have done no wrong shall be protected by the purity of your intentions. The rest of you shall perish by my judgement this day."

All present at that time remember no events following these save a flash of searing light, and an Asturian knight's strangled cry:

"Taiahna, NO!"

  
  


****

  
  


"Lady Taiahna, what will you have us do with him for the time being?"

Taiahna sighed and adjusted her regal robes. She glanced at Allen for support, who nodded his approval of her thoughts, with the same strange look his face bore so often these days.

"To the dungeon with him." she sighed, knowing full well that she would have to now reach a decision concerning the warlord sooner or later.

Dilandau's body had been found two days after the massacre. He was wandering dazedly through the bodies of the yet unburied dead while muttering to himself, his left arm hanging limply, the shoulder dislocated. The evidence that he didn't know where he was, or what was happening to him was strong; he had offered no resistence to the Fanelian soldiers that brought him to the castle. His uncharacteristic state was nothing but an aftereffect of being so near Taiahna's exit point of the mortal dimension. Doctors had repaired his body, and his mind would not be far behind. When that time arrived, someone had to decide his fate. The meeting to determine who would make this decision had not ye been held, but all signs pointed to Taiahna as the most likely candidate as the keeper of his destiny.

Then there was the issue of how Dilandau had escaped the goddess' wrath. All who knew of the General's survival supposed different things. Some thought it was the touch of Taiahna's vision that had saved him, putting him so far into unconsciousness not even the blessed goddess could read his dire thoughts. Most accepted this as the most plausible theory, but almost all believed something more frighteningly close to reality that they dared not speak it: the man knew not remorse. He was devil-spawned and killed so thoughtlessly, he no longer experienced guilt. 

These same folk also supposed that their saviour could have been none other than Lexa, the holy maiden of judgement. This of course, went without saying. Who else could it have been? Allen Schezar was near wasting away. He knew, and prayed the Creator every night for the forgiveness of his sister. As for Taiahna, she didn't remember a thing after seeing the Keeper healed. Though the night before she'd had a fleeting and disturbing feeling that some of her memories were missing, she had dismissed the thought. She had even asked Allen what was troubling him, sensing a link between the two pieces of information, but he wouldn't respond in any clear sort of way. He mumbled around the point until he managed to shift her gaze off-topic. This was a burden he would bear alone. He had vowed to protect his sister, and knowing this knowledge would destroy her, he kept silent. 

  
  


****

  
  


"This is ridiculous, my Lord!" called a deep-voiced and heavily bearded nobleman. "That killer has been as sound of mind as he'll ever be for months now! Why do we wait to carry out his sentence?"

Several other nobles at the long oaken table shouted and grunted their respective agreement. Taiahna looked downward, trying to hide her blush of shame, knowing she was the cause. Knowing she was an integral part of the council, Taiahna had been able to prolong its meeting for quite a while. First she'd had a sore throat, which had developed into a mysterious illness that had kept Taiahna bedridden until the day before the medical specialist had arrived from the far south. After his departure, she had promptly fallen ill again. Finally she had confided her reluctance to her brother who had in turn provided the information an irate Van, who then set the date for the council meeting. When Taiahna announced, the morning of, that her stomach was doing small somersaults, Allen had dismissed it as a case of nerves, until his sister had run off to throw up. He changed his diagnoses to a case of *severe* nerves. Nothing would put this meeting off. 

Van stood, and silenced the discontented murmurs of the lords with a powerful glare. 

"I realize your displeasure and apologize for the delay." Taiahna thanked Van silently for not announcing her as guilty. "But the day has finally come where we will see that murderer put in his place. The manner of his punishment will be decided by..." Van sighed, wishing his sense of justice was not so acute. He knew that the only person deserving enough at fit to pronounce Dilandau's sentence was-

"Taiahna. If you follow the guards at the door down to the dungeon, you may do or arrange for whatever you deem appropriate."

Taiahna's small and shaking hand came to rest on her sword as she stood, a determined look upon her pixie features. 

"I will. Thank-you King Van."

With these words, she followed the guards down halls and dank stairs, walking further away from the light with each step.

  
  


****

  
  


Dilandau blinked his way painfully back into consciousness. The pain was a blessing, it helped break the incredible monotony of imprisonment. The week or so after the battle Dilandau had come back to himself, the prison guard had begun alternately taunting and beating him mercilessly. He was indifferent to the former but welcomed the latter. He detested imprisonment more than any other form of punishment and at times caught himself longing for death, which wasn't really such a bad fate. Death would only result in his inevitable rebirth. Perhaps it was this problem that left the superiors of Fanelia deciding what to do with him for so damned long. Dilandau's patience with his tiny little grey mouldy-stoned cell and the miserable and chaffing chains they kept him in had ebbed long ago. He looked at his surroundings with a large measure of distaste. Yes, death would be pleasant.

Dilandau heard the faraway sound of a key turning the lock to the lower dungeons. 

'Excellent' he thought, 'my daily beating.' not fully knowing whether he was actually thinking such in a sarcastic sort of way. He started shifting himself into a sitting position, with difficulties caused on account of his neck, wrists and ankles being chained to the wall behind him, but paused when he heard a step lighter and much less formulaic than the calculated and disciplined footfalls of the Fanelian guard. 

'Could it be?'

Dilandau hauled himself unceremoniously into sitting position with a grunt of sharp pain suppressed and rested his head on the disgustingly unclean wall behind him. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, not even daring to hope she had come.

****

  
  


Taiahna approached Dilandau's cell alone. The guard had shown her the way, given her the key to Dilandau's cell and was now waiting for her near the entrance to the lower dungeons to give her privacy. She counted identical cells until reaching the very last at the end of the roughly L-shaped corridor. Taiahna took a deep breath and adjusted her sword belt, more out of nervousness than necessity, and peered through the bars of the cell. There was Dilandau, chained to the wall behind him by numerous rusting irons. He sat with his legs in front of himself, knees bent, his head bowed in forced humility due to the weight of his bindings. His head raised and his eyes opened slowly as he heard the sound of key in lock yet again, only much closer. The entrance swung outward, shrieking on long-unoiled hinges. He grinned lopsidedly, though not by choice; Taiahna saw that he had obviously been beaten many times since his arrival at castle Fanelia. Though bound to the very rock of the place he hated most, bruised, bloody and covered in grime, Dilandau somehow managed to maintain his arrogant veneer.

"Why are you here?" he asked her, his voice hoarse. It seemed that a full water bowl had been placed just out of his reach. By the rawness of his wrists, it seemed that it wasn't for lack of fairly recent trying that he hadn't obtained it already. Obviously too proud to ask such a favour the lord simply watched as she glanced rather conspicuously towards it. He continued to wait for the answer to his question as though he hadn't caught her implicitly asked question. She sighed, locked the door behind her and then moved the bowl into his reach. He looked at her suspiciously, and then proceeded to gulp the water down.

"You're welcome." she muttered. As Dilandau reached the last bit of his water, he looked positively torn for a moment. He finally poured it onto a relatively unsoiled part of his shirt and wiped his face as clean as he could. Taiahna rolled her eyes. Dilandau smirked.

"Yes, I am quite the vain bastard." His demeanor changed entirely; he was all business. "Now are you going to tell me why you're here, or did you just feel a particular urge to mock me today?" Seeing Taiahna hesitate and become suddenly very interested in the stone floor, Dilandau realized he had known the answer all along. He laughed shortly, without humour as always. 

"Of course, you're here to pass my final sentence."

Taiahna looked up into his blood-red eyes and then immediately away at the shock she received from the amount enthusiasm she found there.

"Well?" he demanded brusquely.

"Yes." she whispered in reply, moving closer to him. "I am." 

The fallen warlord's lopsided grin returned.

"May I have one last request?"

Taiahna immediately regarded him with a look of demi-suspicion. 

"That depends on what you want." she informed him.

"All I ask," he begged with a torturedly benign look painting his bruised features, "is one - last -kiss..."

Taiahna rose to her full height, which wasn't actually very tall, but her anger was effectively conveyed through the movement, making Dilandau wonder momentarily if this would but speed his death. Then, quivering with rage and indignation, she moved yet closer to him and spoke:

"You incredible bastard. Do you honestly think I would do that?! You, more than anyone knows what that would do me, what that would *cost* me! I have no desire to relive that night, None."

Dilandau continued to press his case.

"Don't pretend that you didn't enjoy that night in its entirety. Every place I touched you, every second I was *inside* you-"

"Stop it!" she shrieked, "Stop it NOW! I hate you! You- you forced me into something that I didn't want!"

Dilandau laughed again.

"Don't lie to me or yourself girl." he snapped suddenly. "You know very well that you asked for it. You got exactly what you wanted, and it scared you. It just *kills* you to know that you had to betray all your precious morals to get it."

Taiahna froze. Dilandau spoke more truth than he was aware.

"No..." she whispered desperately, "Be quiet!"

But he did not stop speaking.

"You should be flattered *Tai*. I made an exception for you that night, and treated you as a guest, as I would have liked to have been treated."

Her desperation turned once more to hatred, and a near visible aura of it surrounded her as she pulled the hair back from the right side of her face.

"You scarred me!" she growled.

He smiled almost dreamily for a moment, remembering his handiwork, and then broke of in a snappish manner once more.

"I gave you a night of pain and pleasure you will never forget."

His words echoed the vacant cell block and hung in the silence thick around them.

"I think I may have left you changed in more ways than one." he drawled, his eyes lowering evidently to her abdominal level. She gasped in horror and folded her arms over the area he was gazing at as if he could see what was inside her. He was shocked her naivete. As if she had never considered it!?

'She's a child Dilandau..." hissed one of the sorcerers in his head, 'She was a child when you took her... what more were you expecting?'

Taiahna's mind reeled at the horrible possibility. She stumbled over a loose stone and fell backwards, landing on her hip and breathing hard. She hadn't uttered a word when the vision hit:

  
  


~*A family shadowgraph suddenly moving and full of colour; A silver-haired father with his arm lovingly thrown over the shoulders of a red haired mother, both smiling, holding a set of twins*~

  
  


Taiahna wrenched herself from the vision, and with her remaining strength dragged herself to her feet, now covered in dungeon floor filth as well. She staggered toward Dilandau, a question on his lips and in his eyes. She answered it curtly, drawing her sword.

"Yes."

He grinned in triumph, but it was to be short-lived. His eyes opened wide as her silver blade swung down.

"No... NO! N-"

The guard, who was now approaching to check Taiahna's welfare heard Dilandau's clipped cry as well as the thump and clank of a chained body falling over. He went no further, and waited for his lady executioner to return from the cell. He noted the blood she wiped from her blade before she slid it back into her sheath. 

"We'll have someone see to the body immediately." he notified her. And with these words, they began the long trek back to the sunlight.

  
  


****

  
  


Allen ambled aimlessly down the halls of castle Fanelia, momentarily full of a kind of restless peace that had entered his soul lately. Sunlight shone in a way any sane person would have found nearly sickeningly cheerful through a nearby arrow slit, gently illuminating the knight's face. Allen stopped to enjoy the tentative rays. For the first time in ages he didn't feel the need to hurry off to anywhere or do anything in particular. He closed his eyes to listen to his surroundings. Birds singing outside, the creak of his leather boots as he shifted, a woman crying?

Allen opened his eyes and followed the sound to the kitchens. 

"Hello?" he called hesitantly, not really wishing to intrude where he was not welcome, but too chivalrous to do otherwise. The crying stopped abruptly. Allen walked in nonetheless, looking around counters and tables. Then a telltale tearful hiccup was issued from behind a sack of potatoes and Allen made a beeline for the vegetables, moved them carefully aside to see his own sister. She was covered in dungeon grime, and tears streaked her heart-shaped face. The knight sat down and pulled Taiahna, now sobbing afresh, on his lap. 

"Shh, shh." he nearly cooed. "Don't cry Taiahna. I know it's hard. Taking a life is always difficult. Especially if you knew the person." He encircled her with his strong arms and hugged her gently. Her tear-filled brown eyes met his own clear blue.

"B- but Allen... I- I-" she sniffed violently. Allen pulled out his pristine handkerchief and handed it to her. She blew her nose with a great honking and continued with her sob-riddled sentence.

"A-Allen, there's s-something I have to t-tell you."

Allen nodded sagely.

"I know Tai. You loved him. I still don't understand why, but there it is. Human hearts are just that, human. They obey no one, not even ourselves. I know I-"

Taiahna cried harder, and Allen returned to his motherly shushing. He gave her a slight squeeze, and looked back down at her very girlish frame. She was only seventeen, and she'd been through so much.

"The pain he's caused you will end now. He's gone." Taiahna looked up at him near helplessly.

"That's j-just it Allen! He's not!" Allen shook his head. He understood her plight. Though gone in body, Marlene's memory had remained with him for the rest of his life. He'd been young and foolish at the time, but thoughts of her still plagued him. No amount of sexual experimentation had done anything to fade her ghost.

"I understand Taiahna, more than you know."

"No" she near yelled, her tears beginning to dry. "You don't understand at all! He's still alive Allen!"

"Of course." he said softly. "He's still alive in your heart."

Taiahna got up off of Allen's lap, clenching her fists.

"No you fool! I couldn't kill him! He's not dead!"

Allen's mouth gaped open slightly as he pulled himself from the floor.

"He's really alive? *Alive* alive?"

"Yes!" she said in tearful exasperation, "That's what I've been trying to tell you! That and-" she broke off, slinking back to the floor and crying again.

"Oh Creator!" exclaimed Allen, "What could be worse than that!?" he clamped his hand belatedly over his mouth as his words inspired more crying from his sister. He sank back down, placing an apologetic hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Tai! I didn't mean that! Honestly, I-" 

She stopped crying long enough to take a swing at her brother, hitting him directly in the nose. He fell backwards, clutching his face as well as alternately crying out at stabs of pain and apologizing. 

"I'm pregnant!" she shrieked, "with TWINS!" she curled back into a ball and resumed her weeping. Allen stopped dead and abandoned the search for his second handkerchief to hold back the bleeding of his nose. 

"So that's why you couldn't kill him?" Allen asked, wiping blood reluctantly on his white shirt.

"Of course not." she returned to his surprise, "If we kill him, the Zaibach sorcerers will resurrect him." 

Allen gaped again, this time at his own neglection of such an important fact.

"Forgive me for ever doubting you sister." he stammered, opening his arms to ask for forgiveness. She looked up, her face blotched with tears anew, and threw herself at her brother.

The two half-siblings sat on the kitchen floor, covered in blood, tears and dirt, and were surrounded by a scattering of potatoes crowded close with the look of devoted disciples. A strange pair indeed, but brother and sister to the very core of their beings.

  
  
  
  
  
  


****

  
  


Dilandau awoke upon the cold stone floor where he had fallen over sideways after fainting. Malnourishment and a nasty shock he determined as the cause. But why was he still alive? He dragged his upper body off the ground to lean on the wall behind him. A sharp pain shot across his face in a way he had not known for years now. A clink of manacles sounded as his right hand rose to his right cheek and came away bloody. His index finger ran the length of a deep cleft. She had reopened the scar given to him by Van.

"My face..." he whimpered. He his eyes narrowed viciously at a soldier that had appeared at the entrance of his cell.

"What?" he hissed at the man, cradling his face. The soldier regarded him with a somewhat bemused look. 

"I'm here to notify you of your sentence: life imprisonment, torture every day. The specialist is on the way from the east. Until then," added the guard with a snarl, "I guess we'll just have to beat you." 

Dilandau smirked disdainfully, but rejoiced interiorly at the promise of proper pain. He detested every second those blundering oafs of guards had their hands upon him. Such unprecise and aimless violence. He longed to be in the hands of one who knew the art of torment. The guard left Dilandau alone with his thoughts, and full of Taiahna they were. He had marked her, and she had marked him in turn. She had sent for the torturer. She indeed knew him like no other had. Dilandau longer for her more than ever.

  
  


****

  
  


Van and the rest of the council had consented to Taiahna's choice of punishment of Dilandau. They all felt quite equally humiliated for forgetting about the issue of the Zaibach sorcerers and offered little resistance. The king had still pouted briefly, but Hitomi had dragged him off to their chambers and fixed that problem shortly. 

It had been a last minute idea of Taiahna's to send for the torturer. She naturally felt even more attached to Dilandau now that she knew he was the father of her children. As strange as she knew it was, she was doing the former warlord a great service by sending him daily pain. She knew that he was the type that craved sensory stimulation. It was one of the reasons he loved the thick of battle, it was full of it. Without something to break the supreme sameness of his days, Dilandau would go insane. She knew this, but pretended that she was only causing him to suffer more, as any other human being would. But she also knew very well that he was no normal human being.

After the matter had been resolved, Allen had gone in search of Ahire. The thief had been staying at the castle, but finding someone in a castle was not an easy thing by any stretch of the imagination. After several hours of inquiry later Allen knocked on the door to one of the many guest rooms while shielding his eyes from the glare of the setting sun, which was accosting his eyes from through a nearby window. The door swung open to reveal the very person Allen had been looking for. 

"Come in!" greeted the thief with an enthusiastic smile. But somehow, the smile that stretched across his lips and only very slightly crooked teeth did not seem to reach his eyes.

"Have a seat Allen." said Ahire, motioning to his bed.

"Look-" began Allen bluntly "we need to talk about that thing that happened... er... just after we found Taiahna... when we... oh you know what I'm talking about." he finished lamely.

Ahire simply nodded and told Allen to go on.

"Well..." he continued, "I value your friendship too much to turn that thing we had back there into some sort of illicit romance. It was interesting, that's for sure..." he added in an undertone. "But want you to know that I don't want to lose our friendship over post-thing weirdness."

Ahire regarded Allen for a moment and then spoke.

"Did you just say 'post-thing weirdness'?"

Allen laughed. 

"Yes. I think I did."

Ahire began laughing as well, with a real smile this time.

"You had me worried for a bit there Allen. To be perfectly honest, I had me worried for a while. I got a tad jealous when I thought you had ditched me for mercenary-man. It took me a while to sort it all out, but I know now that there was nothing between us apart from that loneliness we seemed to have experienced in tandem back there in the bush." Ahire sighed out of relief and offered his hand to Allen, who shook it vigorously. 

"I say we drink to this occasion!" exclaimed Ahire as he searched his room for glasses in which to pour the random alcoholic beverage he had just collected from a chest at the foot of his bed.

"To the abolition of post-thing weirdness!" the thief declared, raising his own glass.

"To the abolition of post-thing weirdness for sure!" laughed Allen.

The two friends drank long and noisily into the night, angering more than one other occupant of the hall.

  
  


****

  
  


Dilandau sat in his dingy cell, eyeing the shadow of a person coming down the corridor. For a moment his hopes perked up. Could it be her? He dismissed the thought. 

'Of course it won't be her. I made sure of that.' he pouted, wishing he hadn't angered Taiahna quite so much. But there was still a woman walking down the hall towards his cell, the only occupied one in the entire block. She arrived at Dilandau's place of residence and lit a torch, placing it in a nearby niche designed for such a purpose. The light illuminated her features. Her hair was as long and dark as her eyes, and as the leather she wore. She leaned against the bars.

"How long has it been since you have experienced real pain boy?" she asked, and then continued in her lilting accented voice without his answer, "I am going to provide you with an experience unlike any you have ever known."

Dilandau smirked. A female torturer. Interesting indeed.

"How long has it been since you've had a real man in your bed?" he drawled, impertinent as ever. "I can give you the best night of your life."

She laughed darkly.

"Oh yes, you are definitely Lord Dilandau Albatou. Stories of your sexual prowess have spread far and wide. You are one to appreciate my art."

"You won't get me to crack." 

A silvery eyebrow raised suddenly at certain things he had just noticed. Her voice was not accented from the east, but the south. She had addressed him as Lord. She knew of his womanizing. She also had a tattoo half hidden on her right ankle. She saw him spot it and discretely lifted her pant leg to display the Zaibach insignia.

"We are still loyal my lord." she whispered, and in a louder voice added: "Do not worry my prisoner. I will have you *broken* in no time." 

As she walked away, Dilandau smiled at the extra emphasis she had put on the word 'broken' as if to denote the unheard 'out' that was mean to follow it.

  
  


****

  
  


Days turned into weeks turned into months and signs of Taiahna's pregnancy became more and more pronounced. The babies would be due in a couple month and Allen doted on Taiahna and spoiled her rotten.

"Funny," she'd often say, "I thought you were my brother but I guess it turns out you were really the *mother* I never had!"

Hitomi, who had been enjoying every second of her time with Van came across some troublesome information. She had until the next full moon to leave Gaea, or she wouldn't be leaving at all. Several nights before she'd crept from her room to Van's and shook him awake.

"Van." she whispered softly, pushing at him a little. She called his name louder in a singsong tone, ("Va-an.") but he did not stir. She leaned over him and kissed him softly in the moonlight, and seeing that it was time for desperate measures, deepened the kiss only to be greeted by a delicious moan from her lover as well as a fluttering of his eyelids, indicating his waking.

"G'morning Hitomi?" mumbled Van, who was slightly confused. Hitomi giggled, and then her expression turned resolute.

"Van, I'm staying."

Van sat straight up in bed, now quite fully awake.

"What? What!" he cried joyfully, "Staying!" he kissed Hitomi enthusiastically and dragged her into bed. "That's great!"

"I love you Van." she sighed dreamily.

"And I, you." he replied absolutely beaming.

The couple was about to kiss again when a messenger came bursting into the room, with the look he carried a message of dire importance.

"What is it?" asked Van irritably, as the castle messengers were always known to exaggerate.

"He's gone!" gasped the man, who had clearly run from somewhere at top speed.

"Who?" asked Van, his ire only growing at this unwelcome interruption.

"The Zaibach general King Van. He's escaped!"

Van blanched and leapt from his bed, pulling on robes and grabbing his sword. He had to get to Taiahna. If Dilandau was out of his cell, there was no way he would leave without seeing her.

Van ran down the stone corridors through the strangely large amount of people about for this time of night and cursed the size of his castle. The king finally arrived at Taiahna's chambers and saw Dilandau's moonlit silhouette, his hair shining softly in the pale light. He was hovering over her bed, his hand pressed tenderly to her stomach. He kissed her softly, and then stood abruptly to see Van standing at the entrance. 

"Creator damn you Fanel!" he whispered angrily but silently so as not to wake Taiahna. "You've made this escape just that much more difficult."

"You will not escape." muttered Van angrily, "Not alive."

An idea flickered across the moonlit warlord's features.

"Of course not Fanel." he grinned maniacally. "But I'll be back. I'll be back for her, and for the child. Nothing will stop me." the grin faded slowly, and an eerie look of calm possessed him. "Goodbye..."

With this last word, Dilandau stepped from the open window, to plummet to his death.

Van cursed, and ran to the window, but it was too late. He watched the silver-haired boy hit the rocky earth with a horrific crunch. The young king sank into the window seat and watched Taiahna sleep peacefully, moonbeams playing on her face, and highlighting a small smile she was now wearing as the result from some pleasant dream. Dilandau's last words echoed in the anxious hollow of Van's mind. He would be back. And so the cycle of bloodshed would begin anew. Van rose and walked to the entrance of the room. Dilandau would be back. Van left the room, closing the door softly behind him. Taiahna shifted in her sleep. A few words crossed her lips uttered in a voice she thought long repressed:

"And I... will be waiting..."

  
  


*End*

  
  


WOW! It's OVER. So... who wants a sequel?! I know I do! *tee hee* I have one planned. If anyone, and I mean ANYONE wants a sequel... LET ME KNOW! I'm quite keen to write it. Though I make take a small break before hand seeing as I've been writing Ash for... a couple years now... :)

  
  


Thank-you to all the people who've stuck with this fic. It was quite an on-again-off-again relationship. But I finished it! Special thanks go out to my friends Stace and Steph who've listened to pretty much all of this fic over the phone whether they wanted to or not :)

Thanks as well to SK Marie and fanfic's very own Tajana :D

Thanks to everyone and anyone who ever read this. You know who you are! If you ever took the time to review, I love you more! 

  
  


So now that Ash is done, don't forget about me people :) I've got a lot of great ideas yet to come involving out dearest Dilandau, most of them non Ash related. *sigh of relief* 

So I guess this is good-bye...

*sniff*

*hurls self out of window*

I'LL BE BACK!!

  
  


The First, The ONLY

~Planeswalker~

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	21. Epilogue

Flame, Deliverance and Conquest

Following Ash, Betrayal and Bloodlust

... Yeah so it's another crappy title... I'm no good at making up titles for uber-long stories...

Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own the Esca characters, but you know who the original characters are, and they're mine! ALL MINE!! GYEAHAHAHA!!

A/N: This is a sequel to a fanfic called 'Ash, Betrayal and Bloodlust' which was written quite a while ago... The story is about an girl who has a run-in with Dilandau when he and the Zaibach army destroy her village. She escapes however, and is chased by Dilandau. Hopefully soon I'll be heavily editing it for grammar and style as I've grown a significant amount as an author since having written it.

So yeah! For those of you guys who read 'Ash'... you've probably forgotten all about me by now... but here's the sequel! That's right! I'm back! Took me long enough... --;...

This story won't be centred around Taiahna however. gasp That's right my friends. We shift the focus of this fic to her children. But don't worry. I believe there is some unfinished business between Dilandau and the mother of his children that I will have to see to in this prologue...

Either way...

Enjoy!

And PS, bear with me if the beginning is a little boring, it gets better later in the prologue. There's all this crappy explaining to do, so sigh, yeah. But trust me... it's worth getting through for the reunion... :D

PS. This chapter is motherbleeping LONG.

PPS. Yeah, no idea where all my tabs when. If anyone knows how to fix that, let me know, I use WordPerfect. Thx in advance.

Warning: Graphic sex. W00t. Lol.

O0O0O0O

A soft, hot wind rustled the silver hair of a man lying in bed. His sheets had been thrown off of his upper body earlier that night in an attempt to elude the effects of the oppressive late summer heat. Sweat beaded the form of his nearly naked body and shone in the pale light of the sickle-shaped moon. His eyes were squeezed shut as though experiencing a measure of discomfort. He was dreaming again... about her.

_The outline of a woman's form, lying in bed. _

_Her long red hair fanned over the pillow. _

_A rise of the sheets depicting the swell of a pregnant woman's stomach. _

_A hand pressed gently to it, and a surge of pride as a kick was issued from within._

'_A fighter... like his father...'_

_The images from this point are somewhat garbled; _

_A black-haired demon- then the rush of wind and a final, deadly impact._

The man's eyes snapped open as he grasped for his sheets, breathing hard, his insides having gone suddenly and inexplicably cold. His eyes, a shade of deepest garnet, were opened wide and glittering wetly in the night.

"Taiahna..." he whispered raspily, "Her name is Taiahna..."

O0O0O0O

Not long after midnight, a woman wrote in slightly untidy cursive into a diary by the light of a candle stub. Her long, red hair had been swept over her shoulders to avoid any contact with the ink of her writing or the wax of the candle, which was now guttering because of the wind pushing itself uninvited into the small bedroom, causing the shutters of the window to offer a bang, slightly muted by decorative curtains. She stood up, closed the window, and began to write again.

_Red, 8__th__ Moon_

_The night is calm and warm, but I just can't bring myself to sleep. The children are silent, and have been in bed for hours. Even Douglas' snores are somewhat more repressed than usual._

The woman sighed, looking around distractedly, and then forced herself to write on.

'_As incredibly strange as this sounds, I feel as though something is going to happen, and anyone I'd be fool enough to tell so would tell me I was mad. I don't know what could be making me so anxious. I haven't had a hint of a vision for nearly three years now. I see no reason for them to start up again. Unless he's back maybe-'_

The woman gasped at her last sentence. It was scrawled hastily and rather more messily than the rest of her words, as though she'd wanted to free the admission before some inner force could quash the notion. She crossed out the sentence angrily, and glared at herself in the mirror above the writing desk, her brown eyes shining as though daring herself to let slip another such unfounded fear. She sighed, and continued her diary entry.

'_Well, maybe I'll try some sleep after all.'_

She closed the book and put away her writing tools. Yawning widely, as if her body was also trying to convince her to sleep, she tiptoed across the room to the bed she shared with her husband, Douglas, and curled up next to his sleeping form. Slipping her arms around one of his, tanned and muscular from working in the forge, she pulled herself closer to him, needing emotional comfort more than comfort from the summer heat.

'_Besides,'_ she comforted herself, sliding into sleep, _'I know better than that.'_ She remembered the impossibility of her worry and moved back toward her own side of the bed, partially peeling off the unnecessary blankets in the seasonal warmth.

'_Van promised me Dilandau wants nothing more to do with me.'_

She smiled slowly and drowsily at this reassurance, and finally drifted into dreams.

O0O0O0O

Dilandau walked barefoot down the cold stone floors of the fortress he had lately called his home. He wore only a pair of loose black pants of some cottony and easily breathing material. His naked and muscular upper body gleamed magnificently in the first rays of sunlight to kiss the great and mighty mountains that surrounded the fortress. At the age of twenty-one, the warlord's growth had come to a stop. He stood barely shy of six feet tall with shoulders just wide enough to suit his height. All of his lankiness was gone, and he had filled out to perfection. Two words to describe the young man's appearance: Solid Muscle. These words went along with other sets of two such as Utter Grace and Unchallenged Power

Yes, General Dilandau Albatou was a man once more. But unfortunately, not quite a whole one. A slight problem had arisen with the difficulty level of bringing the general's soul back into an 18 year old body. The soul of the donor body had been quite successfully removed, but the clash between the two souls had all but stripped the warlord of his memories. There was quite a long period of anxiety in which the Zaibach sorcerers wondered if they would have to kill him themselves and try again, possibly bringing his soul into the body of a child and raising him once more. Luckily for them, Dilandau's memory was returning, albeit slowly. It had been nearly three years since he had died, throwing himself from the window of Taiahna's tower room.

Large parts of his last life still eluded him. Other memories came back more strongly, such as the scar given to him by Van Fanel, causing Dilandau to continue his nervous habit of stroking his right cheek, though the skin was now unblemished and alabaster white as the rest of him. Other memories that had been quick to return had been erased by the sorcerers, who worried that they might interfere with Dilandau's retraining, and his retraining of the newly resurrected Dragonslayers in turn. One of these memories had been Taiahna.

While delving in the young lord's mind for ways to unlock important trapped memories, a sorcerer had found another memory about ready to spring: Dilandau's promise to return for his child.

All the necessary adjustments had been made, and the sorcerers had breathed freely once more, knowing now that their most important general would not traipse off to discover the whereabouts of his firstborn child. Unfortunately for said sorcerers, the silver-haired warlord had been dreaming about her non-stop, and this had prompted many questions, most of which the sorcerers could not answer in the case of sparking the return of these memories.

Also unfortunately for said sorcerers, Dilandau had just learned her name through a dream, and in a place ruled by magic as Gaea was, there was power in a name. His memories having returned, Dilandau was seeking out the new leader of the sorcerers to vent his wrath for concealing from him a part of his mind. A sneer crept onto the warlord's full lips as he tried to contain his rage. Reaching the bedroom of the man he intended to seriously injure, he threw open the double doors.

"CALDER! HOW DARE YOU KEEP HER FROM ME!?" he roared.

The object of Dilandau's rage, who was sitting at a large wooden table in the centre of his windowless room, was manipulating a deck of cards by candlelight. He looked up calmly from what he was doing, his thin face a study in neutrality. Amusement flitted briefly through his yellow-green eyes as he tucked a lock of his long, brown hair behind his ear, taking care not to tangle it in his glasses. The head magician's shaggy hair and sly smile gave him a somewhat feline appearance.

"I'm sorry Lord Dilandau." he answered in a low, warm voice. "I can't begin to imagine what you're going on about."

This comment only further provoked the general's anger.

"You know I'm talking about Taiahna." he all but snarled in reply, "Where is she? And why didn't you tell me about her sooner?!"

Calder shrugged, and then returned to shuffling his cards, each having upon it an arcane symbol. He drew a card from the centre of the deck.

"A serpent devouring itself." Calder announced, holding it out to Dilandau. "You seek to serve your own ends, but will utterly destroy yourself."

The general stalked the rest of the way to the table, and snatched the card from the magician's long fingers. The green serpent, on a field of gold, was indeed doing as Calder had described. Dilandau glared at the magician before throwing the card to the table.

"So you think seeking her and my child would mean my death?" he spoke acidly, more a statement than a question. Calder recovered the mistreated card and replaced it in his deck. Only then did he speak.

"Firstly, I don't 'think so', I've been told so." He gestured to his deck of cards, his eyes having grown colder. "And secondly, you of all people, Lord Dilandau, should know that there is a very large difference between simple death and utter destruction."

The cat-eyed magician removed his glasses, cleaning the rectangular lenses on the sleeve of his simple rope. He then flipped another card and chuckled to himself, meeting the warlord's burning gaze. "The Feast of the Fallen takes place in Fanelia two weeks from today. The one you seek will be there."

The magician placed the card upon the table, sliding it towards Dilandau. Pictured upon the card was a rose, crushed and dripping with blood.

"It seems your desires will be granted."

Dilandau turned and left the room without another word, closing the heavy doors behind him. He walked quickly down the hall, biting his lip, his eyes now bright with excitement and darting about restlessly. The first small giggle escaped his lips as he entered his room. He clamped his hands over his mouth, trying to stem the flow, but as always his laugher defeated him, echoing off the stone walls of his room and through the quiet morning. He strode to the window, pushing his silver hair back from his face and grinning into the rising sun.

"Daddy's coming."

O0O0O0O

Above, the night sky was blanketed in a layer of thin clouds, stars peeking shyly through gaps here and there. Below, the fairground was ablaze with the torches of revellers and mourners alike. The Festival of the Fallen had come. Van had created the holiday at the end of the last Zaibach war in memory of all those lost.

Taiahna woke from her nap, dressed and walked to the window. She opened it and let the cool night breeze blow through the room. Looking down from her high perch, she breathed a sigh, which was carried away on the wind. The lights below shone brightly, illuminating the fairgrounds and all the people milling about. From her current height the whole scene seemed to have been built in miniature; each figure painstakingly crafted and set loose in a tiny, glittering world.

Douglas was walking the fairgrounds with the children: blonde-haired Kaethe, red-haired Liam, and brown-haired Bryna. Her twins resembled their parents in miniature as well. Aidan was a good-natured child, soft-spoken and polite. He would, however, become aggressive when challenged. Kaethe, on the other hand, had a fiery disposition and would rage when provoked. Both children were quite intelligent. At the age of two, their personalities were beginning to crystalize in their most elemental forms. Douglas' own child, Bryna, was a little older than the twins. She resembled her sturdily built father more than her slight and fragile mother, who had passed away the previous year. She was a sweet girl, but demanding, and got on quite well with both of the twins.

After the children had seen and done what they wanted, they would be left with Hitomi in the children's play area so that Taiahna and her husband could explore the festival on their own. They would also descend to the sanctuary to pay respects to those lost. Douglas was due to fetch her at any moment. Tai heard the door creak open, and she smiled, continuing to gaze at the beautiful scene below. Everything sparkled as though a host of starts had wandered towards the Earth, eager to share in the exciting night.

"Isn't it lovely?" she asked.

Footsteps approached her, hardly making a sound. Douglas must have removed his boots in the hall. Perhaps he hoped to stay a while with her... time away from the children was so rare she shouldn't wonder this must be the case.

A hand caressed her jaw while another slid around her mid-section- a gloved hand. Her body stiffened.

This was not her husband.

The young woman tried to swing around, but the man's hands, once so soft, became as stone. She turned to strike at the man, but he held her fast.

"Who are you?!" she shrieked, "What do you want?!" The answer came in the form of a deep, familiar chuckle. Taiahna moaned in recognition. In truth, she had known him from his touch.

"Oh Tai... " a voice breathed into her ear, causing her stomach to twist uncomfortably, "how could you have forgotten me?" She turned abruptly to face the speaker.

It was Dilandau Albatou, the chief character of her nightmares.

Taiahna tried to scream, but a hand was quickly clamped over her mouth. She couldn't stop her body from shaking as she met his blood-red gaze, full of lust and insanity. Tears she did not want to shed gathered, threatening to spill over and reveal her fear. It was far too late to hide it now.

"Oh" sighed Dilandau in mock sympathy, "have I surprised you? Frightened you?" His grin widened. "I am _so _sorry about that, really." He barked a short laugh. "We're going to have _lovely_ evening."

The warlord made a motion toward the bed with his eyes. Taiahna screamed beneath his hand, struggling against the other that kept her pinned. What strength! Dilandau, amused by this vain attempt, moved her against the wall to the left of the window and immobilized her with the weight of his body. The pitch of Taiahna's muted screams rose to a new level of urgency.

"Shhh..." he whispered, trying unsuccessfully to quell his laughter. "It's ok... I'm not going to kill you... per se..." Taiahna's cries died off as she looked up, his terrible eyes meeting her own. With a smile, and a calculated use of strength, he struck at her neck, and the world was gone, pulled from under her feet.

The young man chuckled to himself once more as be began to tie her limp body to the bed. No, he wouldn't kill her. What he had in store would be more amusing by far.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna woke, her head aching terribly. She mumbled something incoherent to herself as she tried to remember where she was, what had happened, anything to give her a clue as to what was going on.

It all came back to her in a sudden flood of memory. Her eyes snapped open, the light of the room momentarily making the pain in her head worse. Blinded thus, by pain and light, she tried to sit up, only to discover her arms were tied together at the wrist, and we attached by a lead to something above her head; was it the headboard of the bed? Another mournful, wordless sound escaped her lips. As the room came into focus she saw Dilandau perched on the edge of the bed. How had this happened? How had Dilandau returned? Van had assured her of the impossibility of these events. Unless... unless Van had lied to keep her from worrying, perhaps while he kept her protected. But if so, his protection had failed miserably, and so here she found herself at the mercy of a madman.

What had she ever seen in this terrible man, this unbalanced and volatile creature? How could she have been so naive as to believe that there really was good in everyone? The hardest part about the reunion was that she couldn't deny how fully she had truly desired him... She could no longer hold back her tears.

Dilandau turned to face her, his infuriating grin dancing about his features, a queer light in his garnet-hued eyes.

"Oh, don't cry dear. The worst is yet to come..."

O0O0O0O

Three men in dark leathers walked independently of each other about the fairground. The wove through the joyful throng, always maintaining awareness of each others' whereabouts. Somewhere a bell tolled, its sound barely audible above the din. As if signalled, the three men turned simultaneously to face the castle. There they stood, statue-like, as the crowds of people laughed and spoke and swarmed around them; three dark stones in a tide of many souls. A light flashed in one of the high windows- once, twice, three times. All was going according to plan. The men resumed their walking, their paths converging on the corner of the fairground containing the children's play area.

O0O0O0O

Douglas whistled, impressed, as he ushered the children into their section of the play area. It was divided into areas based on age group, and filled with toys and equipment. The children's eyes lit up at the small wooden castle that had been created for this very occasion. The bounced and squealed joyfully as Hitomi approached.

"Well hello there, little ones." she greeted them, enfolding them all into her slim arms. They looked at her expectantly. "Go play." They giggled happily and ran off.

Douglas sighed, smiling. "It's not an easy job, keeping track of those rascals."

Hitomi laughed softly. "I imagine it's not." She patted her own very pregnant belly. "I suppose I'll know soon enough!"

The two conversed at some length about the challenges of parenthood, as they watched the three children play, all the while supervised by a host of volunteers who had been handpicked by Hitomi.

The bell tolled, and Douglas started, realizing he was going to be late to get Taiahna. He said his goodbyes to Hitomi, who wandered off to supervise the children. He turned toward his destination. Standing before him were two men, leather-clad. The one on the right, a young man with an honest face and straw-blonde hair, spoke first.

"Follow us. Don't say a word."

Douglas frowned in confusion. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He needed to reach the children. He began to turn, when his wrist was gripped by the youth on the left. The man, brown-haired and pale-eyed, stepped forward, pointing the tip of a dagger at Douglas' stomach. He then proceeded to speak:

"Listen man. Follow us, don't say a word. This will ensure the safety of your life, and of your daughter's."

At this, the cold, crushing iron fist of Fear gripped Douglas's stomach. Part of him refused to believe this could actually be happening. What could they possibly want? Douglas regarded the men. He stood about half a foot taller than either of them, and he was broader as well. He was incredibly strong from a lifetime of work in the forge, but had little real skill when it came to fighting. Fear was soon followed by rage. He would fight. He tensed his muscles, made a fist with his right hand and prepared to move forward.

Something pricked the side of his neck. It was enough to distract him. _'What on Earth?'_ Surely this evening was too cold for insects. The two men in front of him were joined by a third. Douglas reached to pull a needle from his neck. Realization dawned upon him. He had only time to utter one word:

"No-"

Suddenly the air seemed to constrict him, and the sky grow dark. The men in leathers began to multiply. Three, six, twelve; too many to count. They were dancing before him. They were hovering above him. They were reaching toward him. All was silent.

O0O0O0O

Dilandau began to move toward her, the hunger of so many years written plainly in his eyes. Her mind was full of fear, confusion and unanswered questions. He removed his black leather surcoat. She need something, anything, to keep him at bay for a few minutes longer. Douglas was due to arrive any time now.

"Wait!" she cried in fright as he approached her.

Dilandau paused, his fierce concentration breaking momentarily. He frowned. "And why on Gaea should I do that?" The grin snaked its way back onto his lips, turning one corner, and then the other as it widened. "I have everything I want, laid out before me." His eyes flashed in anticipation with a dash of lunacy. His mood darkened suddenly. "This had better be good."

Taiahna paused, and swallowed, hesitating to meet his eyes. She had always wanted to know. When would she be granted such a chance again?

"Out with it!" he snarled impatiently.

She swallowed back tears, yet again, and forced herself to speak: "Did... did you ever love me?"

A low laugh issued from the back of his throat as he came to sit on the edge of the bed. "I thought you'd never ask." He removed his black gloves and stroked her cheek. "Not all of my memories have returned, but I know this: There was a time when I thought I could have come to love you. For the most part, I was attracted to you for your body, your power and of course," he smiled again at the memory, "because you were forbidden to me."

"Why are you doing this?" she inquired pleadingly.

Dilandau stood and continued to partially disrobe. When he next looked at her, the lust floated again in his blood-veiled eyes.

"Because I want to."

He bit at his lips expectantly as mounted the bed.

"And because I owe you the eternity of suffering you had intended for me."

O0O0O0O

Three men in dark leathers half-supported, half-dragged a man through the fairgrounds. They took turns meeting concerned questions with smooth answers.

"He's overindulged, the great oaf! We're taking him inside to lie down."

"A minor scuffle is all, m'am! The lout went and got himself knocked unconscious."

"He's fast asleep, sir, as sure as the Creator is good. We couldn't wake him. Every now and then he looses a snore or two something powerful!"

As soon as they entered the palace they headed for the lower storerooms, the route memorized flawlessly by each of them. They found the room they wanted, unlocked it, and slipped inside, dropping Douglas abruptly in the far corner.

"Chesta, he'd have knocked you senseless if I hadn't stuck him!" joked the third man, with long, straight, dark hair.

Chesta frowned. "You won't tell Dilandau will you Viole?"

The two of them looked to the dark-haired and pale-eyed man. "Miguel?" pled Chesta, "You won't, right? Promise me?"

Miguel rolled his eyes, and responded. "I wouldn't do that. You know better. And for the Creator's sake, quit that childish tone. It's almost time to meet the general."

Miguel locked the door as they left the room and walked ahead, the other two Dragonslayers trailing in his wake.

Viole mocked him jokingly in nasally voiced whispers behind his back, "_Quit that childish tooone._" Chesta snorted in an attempt to hide his laughter. Miguel turned and glared. The three walked on. Business as usual.

O0O0O0O

Taiahna took a deep breath, and then another. She looked up at Dilandau, now nude from the waist up. He was gorgeous. Tall, muscular; pale as a statue and perfect as a god. It made her hate him all the more.

"Well," she said, in the steadiest tone she could muster, "if you're going to rape me, just do it already."

"Lady, I am only too happy to oblige you." Dilandau leered and drew his dagger, grabbing her dress roughly and cutting it up the centre. Taiahna began to loose a cry, which was silenced by a backhanded slap from Dilandau.

"Do that again, and you start losing toes."

She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Dilandau lunged forward, and with a flash of his dagger, slashed open the scar on her right cheek.

"That," he said, quivering with rage, "was a warning. I don't need your toes to fuck you, and if you scream again I _will_ cut them off." He moved to the far side of the room where his surcoat was, and reaching into a bag from which he withdrew two long lengths of black cloth. To her surprise, he gagged her. "But I'm sick of listening to your pleading, so be grateful."

He stopped a moment to admire his handiwork. There she was; her eyes wide with terror, her breasts heaving. She squirmed to hide herself, but everything she possessed was laid bare for his pleasure.

Dilandau motioned to the second length of cloth.

"This one is just for fun..."

He blindfolded her. Taiahna screamed through the gag and thrashed for a moment on the bed.

"Anticipation is a terrible thing, isn't it?"

O0O0O0O

Chesta, now changed into peasant's clothing, approached the children's play area. He had always been told he was the most innocent-looking of the Dragonslayers; the perfect candidate for the most underhanded of jobs... He milled about the area, smiling at the helpers, blending in perfectly. An older brother perhaps.

Surely this wouldn't be as easy as his lord expected it to be. There had to be at least a hundred children here. Chesta went through his mental checklist. The child was male, Dilandau knew as much. Whether this fact was supported by intuition, stubborn pride or actual information Chesta knew not. In any case, it narrowed the field. Dilandau was also certain the child would be recognizable, either with his mother's unusual shade of hair or his father's temperament.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye Chesta spotted a flash of red. He smiled and turned towards it. Luck was perhaps on his side. Playing with two girls was a young boy, maybe a little older than two. His hair was the same bloody red as Taiahna's. The Dragonslayer could see no other red-haired children the right age. Luckily, he had one other piece of information; the child's name was Liam.

He closed in to confirm.

O0O0O0O

Darkness.

A pair of lips brushed her right ear.

"You want release, but can't control the chain of events."

A pause. Silence.

The voice was in her left ear now.

"You're terrified..."

Taiahna whimpered as she felt a hand wrap carefully around her throat and a tongue run up the edge of her ear.

"But you want me." The grip tightened. "You want me like you've never wanted any other man. Not even your precious _husband_." The word 'husband' was saturated with contempt.

She felt a weight settle onto the edge of the bed as the hand around her throat moved down between her breasts. She tried to struggle away, but another hand gripped her right arm and held her fast.

"I'm going to make you hate yourself..." laughter, "I'm going to make you want me."

He began to caress her. She could feel his hands, his tongue, his warm mouth moving over every inch of her. She never knew when or where it would come. She did everything she could in her mind to keep herself from enjoy it, but her body responded against her will. She moaned through her gag, soon shuddering to climax with a muffled scream.

Another pause, and then a rustling of fabric.

Before she could react he was kneeling between her legs, gripping her thighs to keep her from kicking. Her cries, as before, were nearly inaudible. As she felt him enter her aggressively she threw back her head. At this moment she felt his mouth at her neck, and a stinging pain. Surely he was leaving a garish mark upon her.

"Mm, you feel amazing Tai..."

Dilandau laughed again, and spoke while thrusting into her. She could hardly concentrate on his words.

"You're going to compare this night with every other intimate moment you have with your husband for the rest of your life." He thrust again, hard. "We're too well-matched, you and I."

'_Oh Creator,'_ she prayed,_ 'I hate him for everything he's done but I hardly even know why it's wrong to want this anymore...'_

Deprived of sight and the ability to speak, Taiahna felt lost and assaulted by the personification of Lust himself.

He withdrew a moment and Taiahna felt herself flipped roughly onto her stomach and then propped onto her knees before being roughly penetrated again from behind.

The assault ceased briefly as he perhaps savoured the moment, before grabbing her by the hair and tilting back her head. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he whispered the sentence that almost destroyed her:

"And after I leave you here, tied to the bed for your husband to find, I'll be taking our son with me."

O0O0O0O

"You, boy."

The child looked up and smiled. He pointed to himself.

"Me?"

Chesta nodded.

"Your name's Liam right?"

The child looked about seriously for one of his female companions, but they were playing too far away.

Chesta smiled and spoke again:

"Don't worry Liam, I'm a friend of your parents."

This news relaxed the boy visibly. He must have been told not to speak to strangers. The blonde-haired Dragonslayer held out a hand to the boy.

"Your Dad wants to see you."

The boy, thinking Chesta must be referring to Douglas, the only father he'd ever know, took Chesta's hand happily, not understanding the danger.

'_Too easy...'_ thought Chesta, imagining how he would be rewarded by his lord. A female voice piped up from the other side of the play area.

"Wait! Who are you?"

The Dragonslayer turned to see the speaker.

"'Tomi!" cried Liam joyfully.

Hitomi's eyes opened wide in fear and confusion, clearly recognizing Chesta, but not understanding how he could possibly be there. She pointed squarely at Chesta and screamed:

"STOP THAT MAN!"

Chesta picked up the child and ran for the busiest part of the fairgrounds. Guards who had been leaning relaxed against stalls retrieved their weapons and dove into the crowd, searching for Chesta, who ran as quickly as he could with the struggling child in his arms. Viole and Miguel emerged from the crowd to flank Chesta.

The three of them ran. The guards were becoming more and more numerous among the throng by the second. As soon as it was possible, Chesta passed the child off to Viole who drugged the boy and disappeared into a maze of booths off to the side. Chesta snatched a bundle of blankets from a nearby stall, the shopkeeper's cry drawing the guards closer. As they ran side by side, Chesta nodded almost imperceptibly to Miguel who sadly nodded back and melted back in to the crowd, heading for Viole.

'_My error calls for a sacrifice...'_

Soon almost completely surrounded by guards, Chesta protected the bundle of blankets until he saw Dilandau descending from a high tower window by a long rope. He watched as his lord met the other two Dragonslayers, stopping a moment to behold his son. He watched as his lord climbed onto his black charger and let Miguel and Viole off into the night. Only when he was certain they had escaped did he surrender the bundle of blankets.

The foremost guard opened the bundle carefully, seeing immediately that the child was no longer there.

"Search the grounds! Find the child!"

Chesta laughed to keep from crying. "The child is gone!"

'_My lord is gone.'_

The head guard moved forward, his sword in hand.

'_And so I go beyond again... How long will it be before Dilandau summons me back? How long will he punish me?'_

Van burst suddenly to the front of the guards on his large chestnut charger.

"Hold!" he cried, "If you kill him they can bring him back!"

At this, the blonde Dragonslayer fell to his knees, defeated. Tears gathered in his eyes.

'_I only want to be by your side...'_

O0O0O0O

The small red-haired boy is laid on the metal operating table in the Zaibach sorcerers' lab. He sleeps peacefully, dreaming of nothing, because his memory has been erased. His first words after the procedure, to the delight of his father, are "Gen'ral! 'landau!".

And so the General begins to mould the boy in his own image.

His son; his precious son.

O0O0O0O

OMG!! This is the end of the Prologue!!

Chapter 1 begins with Taiahna's daughter, Kaethe, setting out to find her brother.

She has all kinds of awesome adventures along the way. Including a run-in with pirates... That much is certain... We'll have to see where else she takes me! I've got a couple other ideas, but nothing I'm giving away :P

Hope you guys liked it!!

Please review :3

PS (again...) Escaflowne nerds like me may have noticed the night Taiahna is writing into her diary is DILANDAU'S BIRTHDAY:) Or so I've been led to believe...

Planeswalker


End file.
